Crimson in the Eyes
by etherealxx
Summary: For Sasuke, it's just another town. Only more people. What makes Konoha different? And what additions to his coven have been kept untold? There's a shadow far darker than himself, and he's left blind from sensing it. AU / Yaoi / OC warning
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **For Sasuke, it's just another town. Only more people. What makes Konoha different? And what additions to his coven have been kept untold? A _very _vague summary. . It's AU, and I added an OC. Sorry!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto! (Only Itachi's heart.)

I'm not sure about the pairings or anything, yet. So please bear with me!

* * *

The hum of September's students resides in the solemn conversations of audible reluctance. The school blurs with the blend of both reunions' excitement and dread. The highest concentration of the latter walks five feet and six inches tall, its pointed raven-hair cheating the sixth inch. Its company walks close beside, speaking in an undertone.

"Just stick to your schedule. First period's homeroom, 107," Kakashi hands Sasuke a slip unobtrusively, his left eyes squinted in its usual fix. "Call that number if trouble starts."

"What kind of trouble?" Sasuke's brow tilts steeper. "What the hell kind of place is this?"

"A populated one," Kakashi shrugs, nodding to a passing teacher. "Lots of families, students. Lots of us. Lots of them."

The younger's lip twitches. "Which _them_?"

A high-pitched bell breaks his final syllable.

"Just go to class. Today's short. Ask questions later." With that, the taller gray-silver-haired man slinks away, shoulders slanted, and thin book suddenly in hand.

Sasuke grits his teeth as Kakashi is lost in the crowd of students. He shrugs away blandly from the eager stares of several teens and pockets his right hand, crinkling the scrawled digits on Kakashi's paper in his left. "107, huh?"

* * *

"...and I hope we can all have a fantastic year!" the loud speaker concludes half-heartedly.

Sasuke snorts, black eyes elipsing the classroom's lone clock. _Time's never slipped so slowly_, he thinks; he counts the rows of desks boredly, recording the occupied ones absent-mindedly.

"Oh! You're new here right?"

Biting his tongue sharply, his head turns casually to the voice that has somehow crept to his left. Blinded by an unnameable shade of pink, he can barely restrain his narrow of eyes. He tilts his chin toward the character, careful neither to offend nor flatter, annoyed already. "That's right," he answers, blanding the taste of blood with saliva.

"Well, my name's Haruno Sakura!" the brightly adorned girl smiles widely. _Damn, what shitting world gives you so much to smile about?_

Sasuke averts his gaze from her _differently_-colored hair. "Uchiha Sasuke." With that, he feints attention to the empty desk in the front, reserved obviously for the class's supervisor.

"Really?" _Why the hell not?_ "Well, if you need anything just ask--"

A familiar face strides into the classroom, then, silvery hair crushed to the left waving as long steps pause at the center of the room. His hands close around a red paper-back book. "Well," Kakashi starts. His right eyes peers towards every desk. It skips over Sasuke's, to which the dark-haired boy smirks inwardly. "There sure are a lot of you."

A group of boys behind him, interpreting the statement as a joke, chortle humourously, and a couple of polite girls evince smiles. The teacher, however, passes each of them bewildered looks before taking up the clothed chair behind his long wooden desk. His legs lean over the protesting maple, and he picks up a paper beside his foot. "Attendance," he reads aloud.

Sasuke hears the pink girl, Sakura, lean to another student to whisper. The two giggle before facing front again. "Free lunch to whoever feels like counting all of you," Kakashi announces thoughtfully. Five hands shoot up immediately, and Kakashi nods to a short boy in the third row. Frowning slightly, Sasuke forces his eyes to examine the teen more closely. _He looks familiar..._

Sasuke's advanced gaze struggles little to pronounce his lack of height and obvious shortage of testosterone. The boy's face however somehow manages to shudder from Sasuke's eyes. Piqued, he donnes attention as the strange boy todders to the front.

"What's yer name, kid?" Kakashi nods to the smaller boy.

He grins. "Tobi, sensei!"

"Alright," Kakashi tosses him a clipboard before diving into his book. Sasuke shoots burning eyes over his superior, hoping to raise his attention, if not wear in a hole first.

Kakashi's hand pauses at the top of a page as if to turn it, but then rolls in a 'shoo' sort of gesture. The acknowledgement is enough to satisfy Sasuke, and he makes it a note to inquire of the short boy, Tobi, later. Satiated, he leans back anxious for the remainder of the period to pass.

The particular town didn't seem so strange, until Kakashi had started talk of trouble and danger. Sasuke had received the blunt order to move from his brother only a week ago, and he'd quietly complied. He'd made living arrangements in one of their father's houses of old and "officially" moved in the next day. Sasuke himself had never been ordered to the town before, whether for a meeting, or staying. The town seemed normal, from his five-day experience there. Same old humans. Their same old habits.

The only difference was that he sensed close to nothing paranormal. At first he'd thought only that the town was scant of his kind. It wasn't unusual at all, until Kakashi had caught him by surprise at his father's manor the previous day. He had sensed nothing. And even though Sasuke had known him from their brief encounters and a few of his brothers' full orations, he'd sensed nothing supernatural throughout the whole visit. When he'd asked Kakashi about it, the older man had simply nodded troubledly. Could the town really be so quiet, or could there be multiplied groups of his kind that were all capable of cloaking their scents? And what had Kakashi meant by _them_? Did he refer to more humans or more of their kind's traitors? Perhaps--

"Hey! You! Uchiha!"

Dismayed at the interruption, Sasuke turns, finding himself face-to-face with a spiky blonde. "What?"

"So that's really your name," the boy squints his eyes.

Sasuke narrows his in return. "Why the hell not?"

"'Cause Tobi's not usually right," the blonde's friend nods to the front, lips pressed into a line. "What's up your ass?"

"Whatever," Sasuke says edgily, "sorry."

"Yeah, that's right!" the bonde sits upright, facing drawing closer. "No one badmouths Uzumaki Naruto!"

With a creeping smirk, Sasuke raises a brow. "You think that's badmouthing, kid?"

"Kid?" Naruto stands up, hands slamming on the desk. Most eyes look up to him, others turn away, apparently used to it. "Why, Shikamaru, I oughtta--"

"Just relax," Naruto's friend, Shikamaru shakes his head, looking away and rubbing his left temple. "Why're you so damn loud?"

"Adolescents," Kakashi calls monotonously from his desk without looking up, "calm down."

Naruto crosses his arms, making sure to glare individually at each of his spectators. He huffs finally back to Sasuke, who is bored to the point that he could crack a smile at the determination glued on the blonde's face. "I'm pretty sure that translates to 'Sit your skinny ass down'," Sasuke says crookedly.

Exhaling loudly, Naruto jumps onto his chair. "I'll sit my perfectly muscled butt when I want to!"

Shikamaru groans, physically sliding his own chair an inch away from his friend. Sakura turns from Naruto to Sasuke. "Don't mind him," a boy to Sasuke's right says, "his brain hasn't become attuned to the real world yet." Sasuke snorts.

"The name's Yakushi Kabuto, third year," he says, pushing up thin-framed glasses. His light hair falls over his shoulder, behind gray eyes, and his angular face is raised with the air of humble superiority. A pair of crimson-faced girls watches him carefully.

Sasuke cracks his jaw with the turn of his lower lip. "Second year, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Now, Naruto," Kakashi drops his book onto his lap, "I suggest you sit before Sarutobi comes in for homeroom inspections."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto grumbles, slumping into his chair. The group of boys in the back laughs loudly. "Shut up, Kiba! Kimimaro! Suigetsu!"

"You've got no one to blame but yourself, Naruto," Sakura pipes in.

A slim-faced boy beside Naruto nods. "I really agree this time."

"Wanna say that to my face, Sai?" he grumbles, shaking his blonde spikes.

"These kids," Kakashi sighs, standing up and pocketing both hands, "really have no morals."

"I do!"

Rubbing the back of his head, Kakashi nods, "Of course Tobi does." He lifts his wrist, angling it so his sleeve falls, revealing a watch. "Oh, look at the time. Three...two..."

The door opens smoothly, and a short old man stalks inside. "Hatake-sensei," he regards Kakashi smoothly.

"Oh, Sarutobi, g'morning," Kakashi replies, straightening a little. "The kids are ecstatic to be back."

"Don't call them kids, Hatake," Sarutobi smiles benevolently at the class. Naruto folds his arms and glares into Sasuke's head.

"Hey easy, kid," Sasuke says lowly, turning his head slightly.

"Uchiha, huh?" Kabuto whistles from his side. "Any siblings?"

Lips tightening, Sasuke answers, "One."

Kabuto clicks his tongue; his eyes smolder crimson. Sasuke flinches, but the red recedes quickly, dilluting back into a clean silver. Changing his glance, Kabuto exhales through curved lips, "You look pretty young to be in second year."

Sasuke's brows narrow. "I'm short. So what?"

"Huh." Kabuto scribbles a line into his agenda pad, pen brushing the page robotically. He rereads it pointedly.

"Hey, Kabuto!" A voice from the classroom's back calls.

"I have to go," the older teen stands, smiling blandly and pushing his books into his pack. "I'll see you around, Uchiha."

"Yeah," Sasuke mumbles. He sees him stalk to the back of the classroom. "See you."

"You gay or something?"

Sasuke glares pointedly to the blonde speaker behind him.

"You need to work on disciplining your classes, Hatake," Sarutobi grunts.

Kakashi smiles blandly, eyes turning to the class. "The bell's gonna ring soon! Shortened periods!"

No one replies.

"They don't listen," the teacher hangs his head in mock-shame.

"Discipline!" Sarutobi emphasizes. He shakes his head before leaving.

The sound of the bell crashes, and each student wrestles through the door. Uneasily, Sasuke follows the crowd.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary: **For Sasuke, it's just another town. Only more people. What makes Konoha different? And what additions to his coven have been kept untold? A _very _vague summary. It's AU, and I added an OC. Sorry!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto!!

I am _really_ new! I'm sorry if I mess up on something or cross a line or anything.

* * *

The following seven periods had passed slowly enough. This was due mostly to the matter of one Uzumaki Naruto.

"Quit stalking me already!" Naruto comes close to throwing his books up. "I knew you were homo. What was that? Oh yeah, '_Oh Kabutooo, see you! Catch you later hunny bunny!_ '"

"Dobe, I did not say it like that," he breathes shortly. "What class do you have next?"

"I'm not telling you!" Naruto squints his eyes. "You're just gonna follow me again."

"I will not, idiot." Sasuke glares at the blonde, "I'm making sure I don't have to see your ugly face for the rest of the day."

"Oh, _I_ have the ugly face, huh?" Naruto crinkles the schedule in his hand, "Woodshop, Room 102."

"A free," Sasuke says, evidently relieved. "Later, dobe."

"Dobe?" Naruto yells from behind him. Sasuke hastens his steps, but Naruto catches up, shoving him into a couple of freshmen. "Dobe?!"

Stumbling over a skinny boy, Sasuke prepares to push the shorter teen back but halts midstep. "Sakari?"

Behind Naruto, a pale girl looks up from jotting lines in a book. She leans against a long locker rack, one foot propping her up. Her auburn-black hair is binded in a ponytail, and her frozen hazel eyes turn straight towards him. Her lips part slightly, her gaze turning almost uneasy for a second. "Sasuke."

"_You_ know Satoshi-sempai??" Naruto gasps dramatically. "How the hell do _you_ know _her_--"

"Go to class," the Uchiha pushes him hastily; his arms are numb.

"Hell no, I--" The second bell chimes. "Sh-Shit!" Naruto grumbles, stepping to his left and then rolling into a full sprint.

Sasuke watches the blonde stumble and then disappear down the stairs.

"He called you here."

Sasuke pauses, expression dissolving and mouth curving warmly. "Last week," he murmurs. "You too?"

She looks to the ceiling, sidestepping as a boy rushes past her into a wide classroom. "I'm sure it's been two years already."

"And I didn't sense you at all--" Sasuke blurts, quickly turning around him to ensure no one had heard.

"That's Konoha." Sakari turns the rings of her notebook. Her fingers run smoothly down the metal spiral, and her eyes follow, winding like a twirling leaf. She tilts her marble-carved face, and her bloodless lips part, shaping inaudible whispers and breaths.

Color wills itself into his cheeks, and he restrains from moving closer. He averts his gaze guiltily. "What is this place?"

"Ask Itachi," she says. "Notice it's been two years since the last full oration. And over two years since you've had to move."

"Then," he asks tiredly, "what's going on?"

Hesitation. Sakari's gaze rests in his eyes. "How did he contact you?"

"By note, like always," he replies.

"Last week?" she asks, more to herself. Her languid voice soon flows back, "So he's alive."

"Of course--"

She smiles a little. "I didn't mean it technically."

Sasuke's lids lower, and he sucks in a hot breath. "He hasn't sent word to you?"

"Not for a couple of months," she says with forced ease. "You have a free period?"

He nods yes. "You too?"

"It's Phys. Ed," she shrugs.

"Let's go," he mumbles. "There's nothing else to do."

Sakari drops her notebook to her messenger back on the floor. "Leave, hm? On your first day."

"I have questions," he crosses his arms, "and Kakashi's doesn't give the clearest sort of answers."

"So ask me?" she tilts her chin. "What a wonder."

"He's rubbed off on you," he grumbles. "Let's go."

"Over a hundred years of attending high schools," she says, kicking off her locker and standing firmly. "It hasn't helped you at all."

He smirks. "I've done worse."

* * *

"So you've made a friend," Sakari says.

The two sit face-to-face at the corner of an old diner. R&B music hums in the background, with a twist of customers' whispers and the humdrum clicks of waitress' squabble.

Sakari's tongue runs over the tip of her straw while her lower lip holds it close.

Sasuke looks down uncomfortably, balancing his elbows on the table and folding his hands. "I wouldn't call it that."

"I would." She spins the straw with her forefinger, taking a sip. "He seemed," she hesitates, "eager."

"He knew you," he watches her.

"Did he?"

"Yeah." He prods the pastry in front of him. "Sounds like lots of people 'know' you."

"Hm."

"You still wear the ring."

Sakari pauses, flexing a left knuckle where a metallic band rests. Light brandishes off its thin jewel; it burns ruby. "If I didn't, I'd have Madara chasing me in the night, wouldn't I? And Fugaku rolling in his grave." She senses his tense reaction and elaborates. "If he is dead..."

He spins his fork and gives her a meaningful look. "If he is dead, then it means he was a great leader, worthy of moving on. Moving on from whatever existence we lead." His left hand absent-mindedly draws closer to her. "He told us that death would come to all of us, soon after our greatest moment--" he exhales, running a finger through his hair. "That it was a reward."

"I'd have been scared," she says, twirling the straw again. "How long ago was it?"

"Fourty-two years," he shrugs. "Ten years before he and Mother actually disappeared."

Her eyes unfocus thoughtfully. "Eight before we met."

Sasuke's lips tighten. "One year before that, when the two of you had met..." She looks at him. "Did he ever talk about us?"

This time she shrugs, tilting her chin a little and sipping her drink. "We talked about other things." Her gaze falls on the ring again, lids lowering intimately for a moment's breath. "You said you had other questions?"

"I did." He could almost hate his brother sometimes; he could convince, maybe charm, a child into killing its mother. Much less keep a closed mouth. But he was forced to digress, for that was the very reason Itachi had become the next leader. Sasuke watches her spin her straw a third time and wrinkles his nose in disgust. "How can you drink that stuff? Doesn't it make you sick?"

"A little."

Sasuke shrugs and continues, "Do you know a Hideki Tobi?"

Sakari breathes amusement. "Kakashi didn't point him out to you?"

"He didn't even tell me you were here," Sasuke mutters. "So I wouldn't guess he was preparing to."

"He's just one of us. Youngest in years," she pries her attention to a faded scratch across her forefinger.

"Younger than you?" he asks.

"He's a baby."

Sasuke considers before asking another question. "Do you know how many of us there are here?"

"Your brother's been sending more and more here over these two years," Sakari answers. "But there're even more vegetarians."

Shaking his head, Sasuke grits his teeth. "They'll just turn into rogue vampires. Like a human's horror movie. Living solely on animal's blood...It's disrupting the way we were created."

"You say he's rubbed off on _me_," she muses.

He pauses. "You've become softer," he whispers.

She snorts. "It's been one day."

His voice lowers, "Sakari, I--"

"Any more questions?" she says quickly, though her tone is the same.

He bites his tongue, inwardly chiding to himself. "Well, Yakushi Kabuto. Do you--"

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke sees Sakari shut her eyes in annoyance before he looks past. "Yakushi-s--"

The familiar silvery teen steps from behind Sakari, followed by two boys. "Just call me Kabuto." His hand falls onto Sakari's shoulder, and he kneels forward. "You're here with Sakari-chan?"

Sasuke flinches at their close touch. "Yes--"

"And I heard my name," he says casually. "I hope only good things were said."

"Hope is an illusion," Sakari says, shrugging off his hand.

"Being tough again, Sakari?" one of Kabuto's companions smirks. "Kabuto, I think she prefers me."

"Obviously, Suigetsu, she prefers Uchiha," Kabuto says, slantedly eyeing her. "Since they're here together."

"No, he's younger than her, ain't he?" Suigetsu licks dried lips. "Ain't he, Kimimaro?"

Their third party member stands cross-armed, icy eyes pointed toward Sakari. "Kimimaro?" Suigetsu repeats.

Kimimaro shrugs, white-silver bangs falling past his ear. His white-collared button-down, opened partially near his tight chest, wrinkles at the slight movement. A vein at the juncture of his neck and rugged collarbone throbs, as he flexes his shoulders. His voice is a course ballad, "I can't imagine her favoring anyone."

Uneasily, Sasuke looks from the new figure to Sakari. "Uchiha Sasuke, I take it," Kimimaro says lowly, shifting his gaze for a minute. "There's been wide talk of you."

"Not unlike Sakari-chan," Kabuto says, "showing up from thin air and somehow captivating everyone."

"If I showed from thin air," Sakari cuts in, "could it mean you crawled here from a cave?"

"Ouch," Suigetsu grins, "there's a girl to please."

"We're late, Kabuto, Suigetsu," Kimimaro broods. His blue eyes freeze over Sakari again, and she looks back, curious.

"Alright, alright," Suigetsu grunts. He looks back to the two with a short laugh before heading out the door. Kimimaro follows, catching up in three smooth strides. Kabuto stays back for a moment.

"I'll see you in homeroom, tomorrow, Sasuke," Kabuto says, pushing up his thin glasses. He turns to his left. "We'll talk later, Sakari."

He walks out as quickly as he had come, the atmosphere swiveling back as if the trio had never visited. Sakari and Sasuke slink back to their seats, no longer facing each other; their faces move farther, and their heads further.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary: **For Sasuke, it's just another town. Only more people. What makes Konoha different? And what additions to his coven have been kept untold? A _very _vague summary. . It's AU, and I added one OC. Sorry!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto! (Only Itachi's heart.)

* * *

To Sasuke, there never seemed to be anything 'natural' about making friends. He'd always had his coven at hand, but even then he wasn't exactly the loudest of them all. After his brother had made the order for the coven to scatter, Sasuke quit social efforts, period. It never seemed to matter, for none of the towns he'd moved from had been very loud or colorful in the first place. Maybe it was done purposely, for the younger Uchiha's sake. So he'd never be faced with too much discomfort. But if that were true, then why Konoha?

"Hey, Sasuke, are you there??"

Sasuke blinks, turning his head slowly and focusing on the pink-haired girl before him. "Sorry, I missed that."

Sakura shifts her feet, leaning dreamily against the schoolyard's front sign. "Well you've been here for a few weeks now, so I was--um--wondering if you--" she ducks, cheeks red. "Well, if you w-wanted to get a bite with me now."

"No," he blurts with the a slight tilt.

She inhales with a strange choking squeek, "O-Oh, I-I'm s-sorr--"

"Sorry, I meant," he sighs, alarmed at her reaction. "I--uh--"

"He's going to the abandoned garage with us," Shikamaru interrupts, posing boredum. "Right, Uchiha?"

"Sure," Sasuke's voice agrees awkwardly. "Sure, yeah. Sorry, Sakura."

"Oh, then th-that's fine," she laughs. The bell chimes ruefully. "I'll see you later!" With that she takes off, colliding into a group of friends.

"So Sasuke's coming with us?" a squinted Naruto says from behind Shikamaru.

Shikamaru shrugs. "I dunno, ask him. Haruno's voice just pisses me off. I think he agrees."

Sasuke grunts as reply.

"Hey, don't say that about Sakura-chan!" Naruto yells. "She's--"

"Alright, alright, settle down blonde boy," Shikamaru grumbles, starting to walk. "She's better than Karin."

"So duck-butt hair, you coming?" Naruto, following him, squints towards him.

With an inward shrug, Sasuke ensues the group. He glares, crossing his arms. "It's Sasuke. And sure, I'll come as long as it pisses you off."

"Oh yeah? Well, I bet it won't piss me off! I bet you I'll even love it!" he slams his fist onto his other palm.

"Who's the homo one?" Sasuke raises his eyes.

"Yo, shut up, Naruto," Shikamaru grumbles, looking around warily. "Dude, no wonder Hinata rejected you after high school started."

Naruto stands upstraight, suddenly, frown washing off. "Hey, Sasuke?" he says oddly.

"What?"

"Hey, you know, me and Shikamaru. We wouldn't mind if you wanted to bring, uh--" Naruto lowers his tone, "--Sakari."

"What's with the whispering?" Sasuke growls, a vein manisfesting at his left temple.

"Well, he doesn't want other guys hearing," a familiar face side-steps beside Sasuke's. "Takes away all the...fun."

"Sai," Shikamaru muses towards the newcomer, "you make it sound like she'd actually talk to Naruto."

"And why wouldn't she?" Naruto mumbles.

Sasuke laughs icily, bringing quick glances from Naruto and Sai. He covers up quickly. "Think of it this way," he says, "if she wanted to talk to, wouldn't she have done it a long time ago?"

Naruto crosses his arms. "Maybe she's shy."

Sai laughs pleasantly. "Naruto, you have no chance at all!"

"Why you--" the blonde rises "--I have a better chance than you!"

"Wanna bet?" Sai answers playfully.

"I don't like where this is going," Shikamaru says to Sasuke. "You might wanna give your friend a warning before those two spring."

"'Been thinking about it," Sasuke replies, kicking a pebble. "Where're we going anyway?"

"Shouldn't we blindfold him or something?" Naruto says to Shikamaru. "What if he blabs the directions?"

"Doesn't look like he has anyone to blab to." Sai smiles, tilting his chin. "Except Sakari-san."

"Good point," Naruto says quietly, crinkling his brow, wondering. "Yeah, show her."

Sasuke, pockets his hands. "She wouldn't care. Takes a lot to get her attention, or she just goes on dreaming or whatever she does." He watches his three companions pause on the sidewalk and slip into the shroud of trees to the right. "Wh--"

"Don't worry, pretty boy, it's not that far," Shikamaru calls from inside, high-stepping a steep hill.

Biting his tongue irratatedly, Sasuke trudges after them. His legs jolt over the mound with ease. He follows the trio's swiveling path, ducking under thick branches and waving humming insects away. Dirt slips between the cracks at the soles of his shoes. "How the hell did you find this place?"

"We're almost there, pretty boy!" Sai yells blissfully, a light huff in his voice.

"Quit calling me that." Sasuke ducks under a green brush, feeling a light prickle as the thorns of a weed graze his ankle through dirty jeans. He tugs at another branch, edging around it and propelling himself forward; he looks up. "What the hell."

A giant rusty-walled building looms over the four boys, cracked windows lining the first and second floors, and the entrance's door collapsed before the front, half buried in vert growth. "Abandoned garage," Naruto says, hopping over the marred door and slipping inside. Sai follows with a grin, Shikamaru lumbering at his tail. Sasuke narrows his eyes, again looking over the rotting structure.

"This can't be stable."

Naruto's face appears again from the doorframe. "Relax, Uchiha. We've been coming here for a year."

"Why the hell's it even here?" Sasuke says uneasily. "Who wants a garage here?"

"I--" Naruto stops himself, eyes raising thoughtfully. "Hmm."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke takes a careful step forward. "You never even thought about it?"

Naruto frowns, voice trailing. "I just never got to it."

Shikamaru voice carries from inside. "It's just a beat up old storage place. It's perfectly safe."

Uneasily, Sasuke steps into the building, watching the ceiling warily as he enters. The wind ushers him in. "You come here for fun?"

"Is Sasuke scared?" Sai asks excitedly, atop a high windowsill. "Will his blood boil if he takes another step?"

Sasuke shoots him an annoyed glance, examining the interior. The entire floor is barren, excluding shriveled bits of cardboard and ajarred metal boxes and bottles. The stairs far across are half-charred, half-rusted, and their bottom half is missing. Sasuke looks up again, biting his tongue. "Fun."

Shikamaru takes a perch over a charred, slanted bench, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. Naruto leaps to the sill beside Sai's. "Well, you can sit."

Unsure, Sasuke strides to a clear wall, running a hand over it and kicking it twice. Satisfied, he leans against it, bringing one hand to knock away a bead of sweat.

"So Sasuke's in the group now?" Sai questions wistfully.

"What group?"

"This," Sai says, "all of us."

"Just you three know about this place?" Sasuke rests his elbows against the wall, twisting his fingers strangely.

"Got that right!" Naruto says loudly , his voice echoing higher and higher. "I found this place myself!"

"Wonder how," Shikamaru mumbles.

Sasuke continues, "You come here everyday?"

"Whenever we feel like it," Shikamaru says.

"Yeah," Naruto says, "and today we felt like it."

"I noticed."

Sai hums lightly, tapping the broken edges of the wide window. "So, Sasuke, where you from?"

Sasuke shrugs, buying a moment to think. "I move a lot. No parents."

"But you told Kabuto you had a sister!" Naruto cuts in.

"Or brother," Sasuke says calmly. "I said 'one sibling'."

"So what is it?" Sai asks.

He grits his teeth, looking towards the ceiling and beyond. Finally he says simple, "Doesn't matter, they're long gone."

"You mean, like one of the kids who leave their parents?" Naruto says. "An eman-emensi--"

"An emancipated minor," Shikamaru says brusquely, watching Sasuke.

Sasuke nods, letting the story flow. "It was a long time ago."

"He's like Sai!" Naruto exclaims.

Sai smiles blandly from his windowsill, arm wrapped around one knee. "That's right. My parents were such a pain. But my little brother..." Sai's composed face shrivels for a moment, darkening intimidatingly, even in Sasuke's eyes. "Well, he was just another dirty kid." His smile reverts automatically, and he exchanges a nod with each teen, as if brandishing the returned light.

"Sai's a fucking brat." Naruto cracks the knuckles along his left hand, a percussion-esque crescendo. "I'd give anything for parents."

"Easy, there Naruto," Shikamaru says.

"So what's wrong with you?" Sasuke nods to the boy.

Shikamaru returns his gaze. "I'm the only normal shit here. Got a mom and a dad. They're not half bad."

"I'm sure," Sasuke turns to watch the three. Shikamaru taps his finger to an unheard melody. Sai slides his pale finger over the window glass's edge, and Naruto scowls at the sun's showering rays. They seemed honest enough, different, and far more perverse than any of the other humans he'd ever dealt with. Sasuke runs a finger through his blue-black hair again, uneasy for lying. His back slides down the wall, and he lands into a relaxed seat on the floor. "I'm sure."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary: **For Sasuke, it's just another town. Only more people. What makes Konoha different? And what additions to his coven have been kept untold? A _very _vague summary. . It's AU, and I added an OC. Sorry!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto! (Only Itachi's heart.)

This chapter isn't so great. Please excuse me!

* * *

It had started easily enough, so why not stay easily enough?

Sasuke exhales, staring at his watch and crouching outside a howling classroom. The final bell strikes tiredly, triggering the jeers of eager students who dash from their rooms, winding in the pleasant dance of a Friday. Behind the packs trudges a single slumping blonde. Sasuke stands upstraight as the boy stomps from the classroom. Spotting his friend, Naruto grumbles lowly, before stepping in front of him. "Whadya want, Sasuke?" he says with a strangely curved mouth. It passes as a distorted pout with the pinch of a frown.

"What happened to you?" the raven-haired boy smirks. "Oh yeah, hear you didn't do so hot on that history test."

"Shut up, Mr. Smarts," Naruto says, rustling his light spikes. "Almost chopped my hand off in woodshop thinking about it. About the look on Tsunade's face! Shit, if she wasn't so damn hot--"

"You'd have a C- average, as opposed to a D-," Sasuke muses, peering towards his watch again.

Naruto crosses his arms, wrinkling his white t-shirt. "Well, not everyone can have your smarts, geek. What're you waiting up for me for anyway?"

"Thought Shikamaru was in your class, dobe," Sasuke replies. "He ditch or something?"

"Something about that Temari girl," Naruto says, brushing saw dust from his sleeve. "Me and Sai're catchin' a movie later. You in?"

Sasuke pauses, spinning his watch and tapping its face irritably. Shikamaru seemed to be the main reason Sasuke didn't strangle the other two on a daily basis; he was calm, intellectual on occasion, and not a pain. Naruto and Sai were loud-mouthed, strange, and impulsive. So while Naruto and Sai were growing on him, he had close to no desire to be trapped in a dark theatre with the two. "Listen, I gotta--"

"Sasuke." Sakari approaches them oddly, thin hands ungracefully held at her side, "Come with me." She watches the passing students and turns finally to Naruto. "Now."

Grabbing his half-zippered bag from the hallway's floor, Sasuke fumbles immediately to a straight stance. "Sure. See ya, Naruto."

"Y-Yeah, wait," Naruto stumbles for words, lips gaping open and closed. "W-Wait."

But the two slip away at an unobtrusive speed down the narrow corridor and through the back exit. Sakari tugs at Sasuke to follow as they quicken their walk to an inhuman pace; she leads him along the sideway, curving at certain blocks and then plunging into a brush similar to the abandoned garage's. She curls along branches, skidding dirt and moss across the air, visible only in the apparent sunlight. The two are lost within seconds, and she pauses finally as they reach a thin lawn and brush of slanted trees, four miles from the school. Her hazel eyes tilt inward, piqued.

"What's so urgent that we have to bolt like vampires?" Sasuke asks from behind her. His steps rustling around sun-speckled leaves and fall onto the short uneven grasses.

"Someone's watching us," Sakari says lowly. "It might be a vegetarian."

"You're serious," says Sasuke. The boy quickens his steps, circling a taller patch of weeds. "How do you know someone's watching?"

"You get the feeling of eyes on you. And they have a heavy presence," she says carefully, leaning against the cracked cement wall. "Forget sensing power, they carry the scent of a rogue vampire. A hungry one." She cuts off sarcastically, "That's noble."

"So a rogue's after us?" he questions. "Or is it just a vegetarian?"

"Probably just a vegetarian carrying the smell of a rogue. But it still means a rogue is locked in this town. And a clever one if you never noticed the scent." Sakari scratches irritatedly at her elbow. "Didn't tell Kabuto, though."

"Kabuto?" he demands, walking towards her again. "How come you never told me about him?"

"We've barely spoken since your first day," she answers with a shrug. "And now it's been about a month."

"So who's Kabuto?" Sasuke asks. "One of us?"

"And Itachi's sidekick," Sakari says with disgust. "Kabuto worships him. Itachi is--" she pauses "--too preoccupied to consider the attachment."

"So Kabuto's dirt to him," Sasuke says tersely.

Sakari's lips curve slightly. "And dirt to me. I'm dirt to Kabuto. It's a circle. Like life."

Sasuke tilts his head to consider for a moment. "Th--"

"Uchiha Satoshi Sakari?"

The two freeze, turning to the clearing rustily. A dark pair emerge from the brush. "What a pain that you'd begun to run. We could have taken you right from your class," the man on the left says slyly, voice patronizing and higher-toned. He shifts into a pool of sunlight, falling from a fault in the canopy of trees. Dirty blonde hair falls down broad shoulders in a loose bind, and his blue eyes point towards her with interest. A bandaged hand to his side clenches and unclenches, contracting with his breaths. He dresses normally, a white t-shirt adorned with swirls of black paint over beat up jeans. His legs fall shorter than his companion. "You're quite a looker, aren't ya?"

"I smell it," Sasuke says to Sakari, narrowing his eyes. "You're right, it isn't one of them."

"The name's Deidara," the man grins. He motions to the taller figure to his side. "This here's Kakuzu."

"Stop wasting time with your goddamned small talk," his companion, Kakuzu, broods in a molasses voice. His eyes are gray, his skin pale and almost metallic. He manifests a thicker build than his partner, tight muscles clenching as he scratches at a nearby branch. A katana slithers in his hand, its blade a red-rimmed porcelain, sharp and humming, rhyzite. "Let's just lynch her."

"You ruined the mood, Kakuzu," Deidara cracks his neck, proceeding to do the same with eath knuckle. "What'll she think of us now? Her and her little friend there."

"That punk's Uchiha Itachi's brother," Kakuzu snaps at Deidara. "Think of the ransom he'd put up for her."

"Probably 0," Sasuke cuts in, his haunches tensing. He knocks back a blue-black bang and glares at the two.

"Oh, tough kid," Deidara muses.

"Shut your shitty trap," spits Sasuke, "you're not laying a hand on her."

Deidara turns his face, amused. "Well, aren't we angsty? Fine, come get me."

Eyeing Sasuke, Sakari crosses her arms, here tone unchanging. "You come to lynch me, eh? So who told ya to?"

"Hah, getting to the point, I see," Kakuzu grins. "I said lynch because Deidara tends to run on. In actuality, our goal is simply to take you, very alive, and run."

"Run where?" Sakari drops her thin bag from her shoulder, kicking it straight and bringing out a slim hand knife, colored similarly to Kakuzu's sword. It measures from the point of her finger to just before the start of her elbow.

"She has her ryzite blade!" Deidara shouts contentedly. "This'll be more fun then I bargained for."

Kakuzu spins his sword by the wooden hilt, "Then let's go."

With the speed of a sound, he disappears, whisping into a god-like run. A swish of air, and Sakari is shoved against a tree trunk, the wide knife a breath from her neck. She watches him curiously, hazel orbs surging. "Hungry?"

In an instant, she ducks from his blade, wind hissing in her attuned ears. She speeds easily yards away and stops, eyes re-attaching over him. She runs a cold hand through her hair, holding the point of that arm with her other, the knife balanced between her middle and forefinger.

"Heh, looks like he did 'lay a hand on her'. Watcha gonna do, Uchiha?" Deidara raises a brow smugly.

Sasuke's brows narrow as he clenches his jaw. "You bastard--" His image flicks in front of Deidara, a bony knuckle smashing into his jaw.

Deidara's head falls back before the heavy fist can embed further damage, and he takes two quick backward jumps. Tilting his cheek, he cracks dislocated line of his jawbone, drawing a maniac grin. Deidara's tongue shoots hungrily over a trickle of blood, evident at the left corner of his lip. "Nice punch, kid. But you know, I guy like me's gotta get sick of the taste of his own blood." Deidara stalks closer to the shorter boy.

"Are you the one who wants run?" Kakuzu says in a thick bass tone. His fingers constrict the katana's hilt, color choked from their meat. Sakari stares back, standing straight finally and curving the edges of her mouth.

"Getting a little angry."

Kakuzu grunts before charging again, sword flailing like an extension to his arm. He slashes as he comes close to her, but she ducks backwards, whizzing away an inch and parrying the next hit with her knife. She spins, landing a blow on the sword hilt's wrapping, a hair from his finger. Kakuzu kicks at her, ducking and striking her balancing. Sakari faults, jumping up twice and impulsively reaching for a branch; Kakuzu wastes no time to grab her from behind. His fingers coil around the bottom of her face, smothering her speech. His wet breath whisks against her ear, "You will come with us."

Gritting her teeth, Sakari maneuvers her wrist, pointing the knife low to his thigh region. She builds pressure in her finger and shoves the blade down; Kakuzu drops her. He snaps away with a low growl, and he steadily attempts to moderate his breaths. Kakuzu charges forward again, sword dancing in the noon's shadow, blood soaking down his leg; his feet plummet over new leaves, soggy under dew and soil. His blade sings when it snaps a nearby tree.

Sakari draws back from an attack, letting it split dried leaves stuck against hallowed trunks. She balances on her kneeled right leg, rhyzite blade, prepared to slice forward.

Sasuke ducks from Deidara, narrowly evading another kick. His razor teeth sink into his tongue as his enhanced eyes work to fish out the older attacker's movements. He slides to the left, quick enough to dodge a manic tackle, courtesy of the tall blonde. Turning his foot to point a sharp punch back, Sasuke freezes as Deidara makes a lightning turn, moving towards him once again. _Sh--_

A red-tinged knife lands at the knitch of Deidara's back neck and spine, and blood spurts across the air in subtle spurts. His cry is gargled, mixed with a string of profanities and hot drops of crimson. Sasuke stumbles away from him, looking past to see Sakari parry from her throwing position. "Sakar--"

She backs away quickly to another slash from Kakuzu, but in an instant, her attacker's image disapates. She dashes forward but not fast enough. Kakuzu slams his sword at the center of her left shoulder bone, crushing her shoulder blade. She gasps, too close to screaming, and yet too far. A warmth spreads across her back, and she kneels wearily. Sakari's hand cleaves to a high branch; she shifts, breaths rash. Blindly, she kicks up mudd in his face, pebbles cracking into his black marble eyes.

He cries out, scratching madly below his brows. Sasuke jumps to his feet, grabbing the knife from Deidara and running at Kakuzu with a cracked yell.

"S-Sasuke?"

Sasuke head jolts quickly to catch the newcomer. "Naruto! You shithead get out of here!"

Naruto quivers, legs giving out. His blue eyes falter, and cold sweat shakes from his temples. He crawls backwards, rustling in piles of shredded leaves, his tragically awed gaze fixed on the beasts before him. "Nn--"

"Damn it, Naruto!" Sasuke's voice is hoarse. "Get the fuck out of here!"

Kakuzu throws the last of the sediment from his face; he approaches Sasuke, looking down, red evident in his enraged eyes. He corners him, shoving him against a wall, slamming him like a rag doll. Deidara comes to his feet ghostily, face bloodshot. He sneers, looking from Sakari to Sasuke to Naruto, to Sasuke. "This your friend, shithead?"

"S-Sasuke?" Naruto squeeks.

Sasuke slams hard fists against Kakuzu's weary form. "Run, damn it! Naruto! RUN!"

In three clumsy strides, Deidara reaches Naruto, hands constricting around his thin neck. "This one's human, eh?" he says hoarsely. "That means he's _breakable_, neh?"

Naruto swallows, landing useless kicks and punches at his holder.

"Heh, not today, human," Deidara tilts his head. "Say, you don't even count as human, more like a third of a human. Meh, you're a tiny little thing. I wonder if our leader would mind if I took a little bite out of just you. Just a littl--"

A straight punch narrows at Deidara's neck, throwing him yards back, his head cracking ninety degrees. To Sasuke's surprise, Kabuto emerges beside Naruto, rubbing his bruised fist. Above, Kakashi knocks Kakuzu's back with the flat of his elbow. Stumbling, Kakuzu back steps, examining the two and then spluttering under his breath. "Sh-Shit--Deidara, they're more of 'em."

Deidara groans from far away. "Le's spl--it."

Kakuzu quick steps to his companion but hesitates before grabbing his ripped collar. His eyes smolder towards Kakashi, and he says lowly, "Don't get me wrong. You'll be seeing a lot more of us. Remember this face, it'll be the last one you see." With that, he pulls Deidara up, retreating into the shadows of distance.

Sasuke gasps, moving immediately to the kneeling Sakari. He calls quickly to Kabuto. "Is he hurt?"

Kabuto raises a curious brow, turning over a limp Naruto with his foot. "Looks like he's just passed out."

Letting out a breath of relief, Sasuke turns back to Sakari. Kakashi helps her sit up correctly, and she stiffly rubs the back of her head, blinking dirt from her eyes. She lets out a soft groan, as Kakashi examines her wound. "The bastard got her from the back," Sasuke says harshly. "Right when she looking out for me. Damn it!"

Kakashi frowns as he looks over the gash. "It isn't near any vitals," Sakari says tiredly. "How fast is it bleeding?"

"You need to drink," Kakashi says sternly. He turns upward, glaring at Kabuto. "Are you going to come here, or does she have to walk to you?"

Kabuto shrugs, trotting easily towards the three. "I was checking out Uzumaki. He's got bruises all across his neck, some veins crashed. I bet his back's pretty damn messed up to." He bends closer to Sakari, eyes turning cold. "And I thought she was just as talented with meds as I was."

"Damn it, Kabuto, is she supposed to have eyes on her back, or is she just supposed to turn her head all the way around so she can examine herself?" Kakashi replies bitterly.

"Sakari..." Sasuke starts softly. "Why did you--"

"Do I need a reason from the top of my head?" Sakari says quickly, exhaling as Kabuto runs a rough hand beside her gash. "Ah--"

"Let's take her to the mansion," Kabuto says indifferently. "We should stop the bleeding quickly, it'll save someone's life."

Kakashi kneels in front of Sakari. "Sasuke, help her onto my back," he says.

Sasuke gingerly brings her forward; her hands ring around Kakashi's neck. He watches her eyes narrow at the gentle treatment. "My feet aren't broken," she says between heavy breaths.

Kabuto tilts his chin at the site, producing a pocket watch from his black jacket. He looks from it to them and then takes a quick sidestep. "I'll carry the blonde."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary: **For Sasuke, it's just another town. Only more people. What makes Konoha different? And what additions to his coven have been kept untold? A _very _vague summary. . It's AU, and I added one OC. Sorry!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto! (Only Itachi's heart.)

This ones mostly dialogue. Just moving along the plot.

* * *

Sasuke can hear the huff before every prolonged scream, the rustling finger tips as they grab for anything, everything

Sasuke can hear the huff before every prolonged scream, the rustling finger tips as they grab for anything, everything. He can see blood seep into the threads of the limp carpet. His tongue burns painfully, and he can taste the rusty sting in each of her elongated sips, stale in the air. He sits up, poised, eyes and ears piqued.

The shadowed man gasps again, kicking into the lithe phantom beside him. Cusses stream raggedly through his chapped lips; Sasuke can see him crack a tear.

"_You shouldn't stay_," Kakashi had said to him. Sasuke had answered tersely, telling him he knew reality was far colder than the teacher's novels led on.

The last beastly gulp climaxes, and the man's stiff neck snaps as his head limps backward, mouth parted toward the ceiling, green eyes ablaze. He leaks his own blood. Sasuke's face darkens, and he stalks silently toward the corpse. His middle and forefinger shut the man's milky lids. "How are you?"

Sakari swallows loudly, raising her head and wiping her sticky lips; her eyes close as she lets out a breathy sigh. Kakashi, beside her, pulls back the dead body, laying it quickly onto the floor. His gaze lingers on it. Wearily, Sakari's joins. "_I_'m fine."

From the doorway, a thin servant rushes to Kakashi at a signal, fastening the corpse in their arms. Sakari continues to watch the bloodied carpet patch.

"Send for Kabuto," Kakashi says smoothly to the servant. They nod twice before hobbling away.

"What was the bastard in jail for?" Sakari coughs. She smudges the flecks of crimson on her palm.

"He raped a kid," Sasuke says quickly, "then killed him. This one deserved what he got."

"We took him from a place kilometers away," Kakashi continues, patting the wet ground with his shoe. "He had no family. It's like he was never alive."

Sakari licks her lips, turning away from the scene. "It always is," she says tiredly.

Kabuto appears at the doorway; he regards Sakari with feinted concern before stepping deeper into the dark room. He opens his mouth curtly, "I see you've eaten. Shall we get your wound checked again?"

She answers by maneuvering her loose T-shirt and turning so her back is to him. Kakashi leaves immediately, whistling to himself and pocketing both hands; Sasuke doesn't move.

Kabuto walks to her, gloved hangs running down the right side of her back. He clenches the bottom of the shirt and lifts it carelessly to reveal crimson bandages. "Now would be the time to leave, Sasuke," he says cheerfully, his tone detached from the situation.

Sasuke, biting his tongue sharply, nods and leaves hesitantly. His eyes never leave Sakari's.

"Your skin's awfully cold for someone who's just drinken," Kabuto notes. She sits still with curved frown. "Hold your shirt down right there." He leads her hands to a high point of her back. He peels the bandages from her stained skin, relishing the shluck of her blood like an awaited victory. The flat of his fingertips runs over her half-clotted gash.

Sakari doesn't wince but watches the window, focusing on the half-torn branch raking the old glass. Its dull leaves sag in fatigue.

"Not talking to me?" he says. "That isn't very," he slaps on a long cloth across her wound, "kind." He cleans the cracked cliffs of the cut with a new gentleness. "Though you and I are no strangers to hostility."

Sakari asks casually, "Did you write up a report?"

Swabbing thick medicine, Kabuto answers, "Of course."

"And did you suffer from distinguishing what you would tell?"

Kabuto considers, pausing in his administrations. "To a certain degree."

She continues no longer and instead exhales evenly.

"Why do you ask?" His tone is curious.

"Because."

Unwraveling fresh bandages, Kabuto leans towards her ear. "Were you hoping that I'd report your wounds? Were you hoping that he'd drop everything and just come back?"

Her shoulder blades twitches a centimeter to the right. "Not the way you do."

His composure slips grimly, but he 'hm's beneath his breath, shrugging. "No, you aren't that type of person," he says with disregard to her reply. His quick hands latch the thick cloth around her forming scar; he tightens it with a final knot and presses down with a firm hand. "That should hold," he nods.

Sakari lets her shirt fall again and slides off the table. She faces him, cocking her head slightly. "Thanks."

"I didn't do it for you," he smiles blandly.

"And _I_ didn't say thank you," she shrugs. She streches her arms lazily. "How much did you report?"

"Oh, everything," Kabuto curls his lip, "and nothing."

* * *

"So what do you want to do with him?" Kakashi asks for the third time. His eyes crinkle at the sides as he peeks from behind his book, "Or is that a private question?"

Sasuke manifests only a slight narrow of eyes, crimson rushing to his cheeks. The two sit in one of the mansion's many dens. An elaborately crystalled chandelier burns above them, and three sofas and an armchair scatter around it. Poking an open-mouthed Naruto, Sasuke shifts with a frown. "Can't we decide after he wakes up?" The boy was still out cold, and Kakashi's constant insisting was all that kept Sasuke from thinking the boy dead.

"It'll be too late then," Kakashi hums to himself, flipping a couple of pages. "'Cause then you'll either have to tell him or--"

"Not tell him," Sasuke grunts. His eyes burn towards the room he'd left only fifteen minutes before. He is forced to swallow his own blood as his teeth sink into his tongue; he growls lowly in response.

"Now what are you worried about?" Kakashi says, looking from Sasuke to the door. His free arm loosens around the back of the worn couch. "I'm sure those two won't hurt each other too bad, no matter how unfriendly they are." A vein throbs in Sasuke's temple, and he tears his gaze back to Kakashi.

Kakashi whistles thoughtfully, "But that isn't your concern."

"Shut up," Sasuke says, turning away.

Kakashi scratches the back of his head, smiling uneasily. "You're worse than Kabuto."

Sasuke growls, "It's different."

"It's the same," Kakashi shrugs. With that, he lifts his book to cover his face.

Crossing his arms, Sasuke sits back into his lumpy chair. He concentrates darkly on the limp blonde in front of him, erasing every anxiety pulsing at his temples.

Naruto lies on the wooden table where Kabuto had dumped him, face up with even breaths. Kabuto had treated his bruises almost hours ago; it felt like days. Sasuke rests his elbows on his knees, folding his hands and pressing his chin against them. Nothing made sense.

Sasuke had been told all his life that vegetables travelled alone, always integrating with other humans. They chose a more peaceful existance to coincide with their unique _eating_ habits. 'Vegetarians' drank only animals' blood. It sounded noble enough, until the excess in beasts' blood made them crazy, and their craving for human water uplifted their senses. Then they would become a rogue, someone truly worth the name 'vampire'.

Sasuke pulls off the leather strap tied to his wrist and unties its knot, so it hangs as a long string. He loops it around his forefinger.

Why then did they mention a leader? What purpose did they have for banding together? A protest? A rebellion? The only benefit their banding would bring would be in explaining their desire for a lynch. Why else but to pique his brother?

"You decide what to do with the kid yet?"

Sitting up, Sasuke faces the newcomer. "Kabuto, where's--"

"She wanted to sleep," Kabuto shrugs and pulls off his thin-framed glasses. He blinks several times, rubbing his eyes. "What a ruse," he says with a change of subject. He tosses his false glasses onto a sofa before falling into it.

"They look cool," Kakashi says from his book.

"Why don't you try them then?" Kabuto asks. The silver-haired boy stretches his arms.

"Not my style."

Kabuto asks again, "Did you decide what to do with the kid?"

"What can we do?" Sasuke says, bringing his attention back to his limp friend.

"Wait for your brother's judgement," Kabuto answers. "But I figured you wouldn't like to wait."

"You're going to send him a message?" Sasuke asks.

"No, I've already sent him this week's report," Kabuto replies easily.

"Report?"

Kabuto raises a brow. "Didn't you know? He instructed for the three of us--Kakashi, Sakari, and myself--to send frequent reports upon his leave. However, he seldom replies."

"Huh." Thinking, Sasuke resumes his previous position, hunched over, fingers meshed.

"I could wait," Kakashi says blankly. "Now, could Naruto?"

"We'll take a risk."

Sasuke looks at Kabuto, narrowing his eyes. "You're serious?"

"Why not?" Kabuto shrugs. "Don't you trust the leader of your coven--No, your own brother to reply punctually?"

"No," is the young Uchiha's reply.

"So we're waiting?" Kakashi asks.

Kabuto answers, "Yes."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Sasuke stares darkly towards the later speaker.

"If you find an idea, over time, then yeah," Kakashi says thoughtfully. "But you need an idea. I'm going home."

"Me as well," Kabuto stands, turning to Sasuke. "Unless you want me to stay for--" he nods to Naruto "--him."

"I'll take care of him," Sasuke says. His frown mollifies. "And Sakari is staying over."

Kabuto's smile grows sour. "And isn't she just a prodgey?"

"She is," Kakashi tilts his head before cloing his book and getting to his feet, "says Iruka. On many occasions."

"Of course," Kabuto replaces his un-prescribed glasses. "Good night, Kakashi. Sasuke."

"Same to you, Yakushi," says Kakashi. "Don't expect me in class tomorrow, both of you. I'm--uh," he considers, "unwell."

Sasuke snorts, standing out of respect. "Good night."

The others nod before leaving the raven-haired immortal alone to sit under yellow lights and watch the trees scrape the windows.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto! (Only Itachi's heart.)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary: **For Sasuke, it's just another town. Only more people. What makes Konoha different? And what additions to his coven have been kept untold? A _very _vague summary. . AU with just one OC.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto! (Only Itachi's heart.)

* * *

The next week went on at least close to normally. The leaves still fell; the geraniums still died. A colder chill migrated into the wind, sending shivers up the trunks of great trees. Student life continued, and class activity crescendoed as the year transitioned. People adapted to their atmosphere, confiding more closely to some and farther from others. Suspicions grew within the school halls on how Uzumaki Naruto had managed to disappear. Even his friends knew not where he'd gone.

"Honestly, the bastard ditched me last Friday, so I had to watch that shitty gore movie alone," Sai throws up his hands in dismay. "And it wasn't even freaky, so it didn't matter that Naruto wasn't there to shit in his pants cause he wouldn't have anyway!"

"As engrossed as you are to your speech of dire concern, I gotta cut in and ask if you're actually worried about him," Shikamaru spits, folding his arms and leaning against the school yard's back wall.

Sai twirls a cigarette in his right hand. He searches his pocket hastily with the other. "Sure," he says. "Got a lighter?"

"Hell no, for the goddamned last time," Shikamaru says darkly. "You know Asuma-sensei always stinks like those shit sticks every frickin day."

"Layin' on all the crap, eh, Shika?" Sai smiles eerily. "So how do _you_ know what he reeks like, anyway? You smell him a lot?"

"There's something wrong with you."

Sai shrugs, looking to their quiet companion. "Oy, Sasuke, you got a lighter?"

"There's one sticking out of your bag's right pocket," Sasuke says detachedly. He sits, knees up and arms strewn over them; his head leans against the wall.

Fumbling to his right, Sai produces his lost lighter. "Oh, hey. How'd you see it?" he raises his brow. Sasuke stiffens. "Even I didn't--"

"You're blind," Shikamaru grunts. "So what."

Sai shrugs, illuminating his cigarette with a quick snap. Light smoke wisps into the air, swiveling oddly. Shikamaru wrinkles his nose.

"It's Thursday, already," the cross-armed boy says. "That means Naruto's been missing for six days."

"Six days?" Sasuke repeats.

"Choji said he saw him running out full speed Friday afternoon," Shikamaru says. "But that's it."

Sasuke stares ahead, entranced.

"Sounds like Naruto," Sai says, parting his lips and blowing. He replaces his cigarette. "He probably got himself lost."

"You think we should put missing kid flyers, or something?" asks Shikamaru. "Since the kid's got nobody else."

"Let's wait another day," Sasuke says quickly.

"Wait, eh?" Sai smirks. He taps the cigarette butt; ashes fall.

Shikamaru grits his teeth. "Why? You know he could be--"

The bell sounds loudly. "Ah, shit. First period," Sai pouts. "Le's go, guys!"

* * *

There was no sound more painful than that of the school bell. It was sharper than any rhyzite knife, higher than any note Sakari had ever heard.

Sakari sits upright at her back desk as students slip inside the classroom. She arches her back uncomfortably, letting her bandages loosen a little; her pencil forms swirls over her shredded notebook.

"Satoshi-san! You're here early!" A well-clad boy drops his bag on the desk beside her. He comes with an awkward sort of cheeriness, and his smile is true, a stand-off from his dark, dark hair.

Acknowledging him sleepily, Sakari continues her handiwork. "Ohayo."

"Don't sit there, Shusui-kun!" a short girl behind him yells. "Sit with _us_."

"Oh--" Shusui smiles apologetically, brushing back a short black strand of hair. "But I'm already sitting next to Satoshi-san."

"No, Shusui-kun, sit here!"

The boy frowns back at her. The taut skin over his brows wrinkles. "I don't see why it matters so much."

"Just sit with her." Sakari doesn't look up, irritated. Her gaze moves with her pencil as she begins sketching recognizable eyes. She doesn't catch Shuisui's apology but pardons it with a mindless nod.

"Alright, guys," the teacher says loudly. "We have a new kid today."

The third years look up soundly, curiosity and temptation clear in most eyes. A boy with a heavy build and broad shoulders towers over their mumbling teacher. His thick black hair is gelled up into impossible spikes, and dark blue streaks arise at their tips. He smiles charmingly enough but folds his arms boredly. What stands out the most is his thick and impossibly oversized black hoodie, aligned with red and gold.

"Hoshigaki Kisame. That's his name--" Hayate Gekkou leans downward, coughing into his hand. "Well, sit."

The new boy shrugs, squinting his eyes slightly and discerning faces. He stops at the lowered head of one Satoshi Sakari and smirks to himself. Lumbering towards the vacant back desk, Kisame drops his worn pack onto the floor. "Hey."

Sakari crosses something haphazardly on her paper. Her lips press into a line.

Kisame falls into his chair, its metal legs shreiking backwards. "Oy, I said 'hey'!"

"Didn't hear you." She hears him laugh shortly and bites her tongue. Annoyed, she sketches out another iris.

In the front, their teacher droans raggedly. His chalk smears the board with a screech.

"So, anyone interesting in this place?"

Sakari rests her right elbow on the desk, covering her cheek from him. "No."

"Huh." Kisame presses his fists together with a quick exhale; his gnarled knuckles crack loudly. He raises his neck to see past her arm. "Drawing eyes?"

Shifting her shoulders again, Sakari shrugs. She narrows the lids of her scribble.

"You know, ignoring me isn't--"

"Hoshigaki-kun, I know it's your first day," Hayate says. HIs voice is loud, but his tone is monotonous. "But please pay attention to the class."

"'Sorry," Kisame grunts fixedly. The moment Hayate turns, he looks again to Sakari. Mumbling to himself, Kisame feints defeat. He watches Sakari's fingers wind her earlobe. "Well," his voice heightens. He grins to himself, leaning back at last. "Ain't that a nice ring?"

* * *

Sasuke shivers, unable to shake his uneasiness. He'd been at Konoha for little over month, and already one boy lay unconscious, hidden in their old mansion. 'Wait'? As Shikamaru had mentioned, it was already six days since the attack. Six days. Sasuke isn't surprised in the least at the delay in word. Kabuto's faith was futile.

"Sas-ooo-ke!" Sai crows next to him. The slim-eyed boy laughs uncontrollably, earning a stern look from the teacher and annoyed glares from his classmates.

Raising his thick glasses, the teacher growls. "At least pretend you're paying attention, Uchiha!"

Sasuke merely looks back with a bland stare, and a couple of girls beside him giggle heatedly, averting flustered eyes. Sasuke gives them the same look. "Can I go to the nurse?"

The teacher's chalk snaps as his expression quivers. He grits his teeth and replies, "If that's where you can find passing grade for English class, then fine."

Feinting ignorance, Sasuke shrugs and starts outside.

"Oh! I'll help him get there!" squeaks Sakura from behind him. "He looks really pale! He could collapse!"

"Sure, sure, Haruno," the teacher grunts. "You're semester average seems safe."

Sakura smiles, skipping out the door after Sasuke. "Hey, where're you going?"

Arranging his bag handle on his shoulder, Sasuke lumbers away. He starts for the school's front gates.

"You're just leaving?" Sakura giggles, struggling to keep up. "But Sasuke, didn't you hear what Sensei said?"

Sasuke sighs and turns the long tile-walled hallway. His shoes skid over the waxed floor, and from behind he sees Sakura grab the locker walls for support. "Listen, Sakura," he says, coming to a stop. "Just let me go, okay?"

"So you're not sick," she notes. She beams, as if proud of discerning the obvious.

"I am, so I'm leaving." He starts to leave again, but Sakura pulls at the back of his shirt.

"No! But Sensei said you'll fail!"

"I got other things to worry about," he blurts, pocketing his hands.

Sakura's expression alights immediately, and she rushes in front of him. She blocks his way, a blinding grin evident. "Like what? Will you take me with you?"

Sasuke glares. He knows he can out-run her easily, but is it worth raising her attention? Maybe if he controlled it, ran quickly enough to get away but slow enough to seem human. "Look, Sakura, no offense but you're getting annoying." Was he being too harsh? The last thing he wanted was to raise trouble.

But Sakura only widens her grin, pushing back pink bangs with flirty hands. Her mischievous eyes glow green excitement. "Oh, don't be like _that_, Sasuke!"

A minute from growling, Sasuke focuses on something that isn't fuschia. He concentrates on the pin of a nearby bulletin board. He sighs. "I really have a headache," and he isn't lying, "I'm just going home."

"Y-You're inviting me to your house?" she exclaims. Her cheeks color immediately.

"No!" he almost has to work to keep his voice even. "I'm gonna go now! _Alone_."

"Going to go where?" an authorative voice booms behind him.

Shit. He'd been so caught up in leaving his classmate, he'd let down all his senses. Maybe Konoha was actually turning him human.

Sasuke listens to the speaker's huffed breaths, their thick air. He recognizes them to be old and matches their voice to the first memory he can retrieve. Turning, Sasuke sees the elderly man from his first day. "I--"

"He wanted to go to the art room," Sakura interjects sweetly. "But he wouldn't let me come! I hear he's an excellent artist, Sarutobi-sensei"

"Oh," Sarutobi nods, unconvinced but sated. "Let me take the two of you there. These old legs need a little more activity."

"Yes, that would be great!" Sakura answers brightly, fussing to the elderly principal's side and chatting easily.

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke follows with heavy steps. The girl could be useful, he decides, no matter how bizarre her actions. He might have to thank her later. Might.

"Fourth period, is it? I'm sure there's a class in there right now," he hears Sarutobi say to Sakura. "Are you sure the two of you want to go now?"

'The two of you'? A growl vibrates from Sasuke's dry throat. His fingers, in his pockets, coil into fists. He wanted to leave. Waves of pain throb at his temples and through his head, waves worthy of a gong's doing.

"Now hurry up--" Sarutobi pauses, thinking. "--Sasuke? Isn't that your name?" The lines of his face crinkle as he smiles benevolently. It's a warm sort of expression, natural and honest.

"Of course it is!" Sakura practically shouts.

Sasuke grits his teeth, sucking in a worthy breath. He surveys a nearby clock. Only ten minutes until the period ended. He would leave then.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary: **For Sasuke, it's just another town. Only more people. What makes Konoha different? And what additions to his coven have been kept untold? A _very _vague summary. . AU with just one OC.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto! (Only Itachi's heart.)

This ones super short for chapter-separating purposes!!

* * *

She hated art. And Kakashi knew it.

Sakari slashes another brush across her canvas. An alarmed classmate stumbles backwards from her. At a dark glance from the tempered girl, they move their own easel a step away.

More importantly, Iruka knew it.

Exhaling and wiping her brow, Sakari rests against a nearby table. It's almost soggy with old paint. Maybe she would switch to the black and white sketch; put off the impression. But that would mean drawing a face.

"Even for people like us, it's a talent." That's what Iruka would always say on those days practically hiding in his house. Sedate and resolute Iruka. What talent? All she did was sketch eyes.

From her forehead, she pushes back her loose bangs and lets out a sigh. She might as well focus on the painting, at the moment there was nothing _inhuman_ to worry about. She spins the short brush between her fingers, light red splattering her wrists.

Unsuspecting Iruka, ignorant of Kakashi's urge to please, leaks word to the wayward-haired man.

"Don't tell me you've wasted another canvas, Satoshi," the class's stern teacher appears in front of her.

Sakari looks up narrowly and half-shrugs.

"It isn't a waste, Miss Shizune!" A nearby student rushes to the art instructor's side. "You see those elaborate lines? Those are the infrastructure of that wooden table over there. She's using a collage of color!"

Shizune squints closer to the splattered canvas. Her hands fall to her waist, and her lips tighten in thought. "Well...I suppose. Get back to work, Satoshi."

With a robotic nod, Sakari pops a lollipop, biting into it with an eerie crunch.

Kakashi slips a quick note to the guidance office, and Sakari finds herself trapped in one extra class.

"That's some painting."

Holding her red candy to the light, Sakari donnes her uniform shrug. She turns her head before again standing beside her slanted easel.

"Again with the silence?" Kisame says cheekily. "I thought we cleared that already."

"Are you even in this class?" she asks. Her drooped hand leans towards her project but hesitates stonily. She flexes her shoulders and finally looks at him. "What do you keep staring at?"

Kisame chuckles. "What's the crime in admiring you?"

"If that's what you were doing," she clicks her tongue, replacing her candy. "It's really more like a stalker's," she hesitates, "vigil."

"Perceptive," he adds, sharp teeth jutting. "But what makes you say that?"

Sakari switches her brush with a pencil. It quivers over the threads of the canvas. Moving her painting from her neighbor's view, Sakari begins to add lighter sketches past her messy brushstrokes. They hear the old door protest at its squeaky opening. Sakari answers simply, "Only a stalker studies reaction. Interaction."

"Or lack of," Kisame snorts. "There must be someone you enjoy consulting with." He catches her wrist, dark eyes caught in mischief. His blue-black spikes bristles as his face moves closer, as if to emphasize his pointed stare.

But at that moment a tall figure slips past the brooding Kisame. Reflexively, he shoves back at the brushing passer-by with irritation. They turn sharply, glaring past white bangs.

Sakari peers toward them, expression tight.

"I expect an apology," a familiarly coarse voice hisses. "Or is that too much to ask from a monstrous oaf like yourself?"

Kisame twists around, growling, and Sakari snatches away her arm. "And who're you supposed to be, big-mouth?"

"Kaguya Kimimaro," he says with a light smirk. "I suggest you commit to memory, as your companion already has."

"So you're buddy-buddy with this big-talker?" Kisame asks Sakari.

She makes no notion, focusing back toward her painting.

"Heh, then that's just fine," Kisame stands up straighter. "You still want to mess, shorty?"

Kimimaro crosses his arms, amused. "Well, if you aren't going to apologize."

"I wouldn't say sorry to any crap on a stick like you!" Kisame booms. His jaw tightens in immediate hatred.

"Assuming you were mentally able."

"That's it!" Kisame charges forward, shoving the silvery boy into the flooded sinks. Kimimaro moves faster and dodges an inch afar. Jolting from a quick foot, he throws a heated punch. Kisame runs to the side, pushing over a easle and earning a scream from a classmate. He tries to knock Kimimaro with his elbow but instead clatters a cup of brushes to the damp floor.

"Enough!" An angry Shizune screams, running between the two teens. "I want the two of you in Sarutobi's office, now!"

It's at that moment that the door opens again, revealing three newcomers, Sarutobi included.

Sakari looks up this time and quickly catches Sasuke's questioning glance.

"I heard yelling, Sasuke!" a thin _pink_-haired girl squeals from beside him.

Shizune dashes to the doorway, quivering in temper. "Those two! Fighting!"

The deep lines of Sarutobi's mouth curve downward, and he glares at the messy scene. "Alright, the two of you, come with me."

"Sakari was involved," Kimimaro slips cooly, regaining a composure.

Sakari's gaze snaps quickly to him. But before she can open her mouth, Sarutobi thunders. "Then you, as well, come to my office!"

Kisame grunts, before lifting his bag and following the old man. Kimimaro strides his cool stride, and Sakari ensues. She doesn't look as she passes Sasuke, but he can sense her clear annoyance, far across her back.


	8. Chapter 8

********

Summary:

For Sasuke, it's just another town. Only more people. What makes Konoha different? And what additions to his coven have been kept untold? A _very _vague summary. . AU with just one OC.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto! (Only Itachi's heart.)

* * *

One week's detention for both Kisame and Kimimaro. Just one day for Sakari. But what was the point of detention if no one bothered to watch?

"So you've been here two years? Started second year?"

Sakari leans her head at the desk behind her. "I guess."

The classroom is barren, with the faded heading from some teacher's lesson fresh on the board. Gold light streams from the window, teasing the three

students left inside. According to Sarutobi, the worst punishment for them was having to spend hours together both after school and during their lunch period. It was already after school.

Kisame rustles through the papers at the front desk, pocketing a loose answer key and several other sheets, and Kimimaro sits at the wide sill beneath the window, arms folded.

Scribbling over an agenda pad, Kisame continues, "And remind me again about your love relations history."

"Why the hell are you so fed over this?" Sakari says, a strain in her voice. "Did some bastard put you up to this?"

Kisame raises a brow, mollifying immediately.

But Kimimaro speaks. "It sounds like a touchy subject."

Exhaling, Sakari sits upright, expressionless. "Maybe not." She drums her fingers over the desk before taking a look at the squeaking doorway. "Friends of your's?"

Standing quickly, Kisame jolts to his feet. "Hey! Yeah!"

Two--Three girls burst into the classroom, giggling animatedly. "Hoshigaki-kunn You said you would show us--" they burst into further giggles. "Please ditch! You don't need a little 'ittle detention. For us, Hoshigaki-kun!!"

"Alright," the broad boy straightens with a grin. "Alright, alright, just for you lovely ladies." He winks before grabbing his bag but stops short. Kimimaro watches Sakari flick out a blank notepad, emerald orbs heated. Kisame coughs loudly, "Oy, Sakari. Why don't you come?"

"I'd rather not get caught and have to stay any extra days," Sakari says.

"Oh, Satoshi's too uptight!" one girl squeaks. "Come! Come! Kimi, too! Kimichama!"

Kimimaro donnes a charming smile. "I agree with Sakari. I'd rather not have to serve extra days."

"Hoshigaki-kun? Could you smile like that?" they coo.

"For something in exchange," he roars, dropping an arm around two of them. "Let's go!"

Sakari and Kimimaro hear their obnoxious wisp from the door and finally disappear.

* * *

_Detention?_ Sasuke sits by one of the school's front pillars. At its feet, tall weeds spur around in sardonic festivity. Smoothing his hair, Sasuke squeezes a cigarette in his free hand, courtesy of Sai. It isn't lit, only a victim to his unease. Strange, school finally ended. He could leave now, and yet he stayed.

Sakari.

Briefly pondering the school's lax penalty for smoking, Sasuke tries the smoke stick in his mouth. Drugs weren't supposed to affect his kind, or so he'd always guessed. Either way, it wasn't lit.

To the raven hair's surprise, few teachers stayed after school. It was an old public school, after all. The only person who seemed to care was the overly benevolent principal.

_I need talk to her._

Sasuke grits his teeth, tapping the cement ground with his shoe. If he had been called to Konoha--strange Konoha--then obviously there would be others.

Who would come? Kakashi's Iruka? Ino? His lips press into a line. And what of those he'd never heard of? Where did Kabuto come from? Tobi? He rubs his right temple, groaning mentally. To whose convenience was his ignorance?

His head pounds again. He leans down, dropping it to his hands. The ground trembles. Breathing loudly, Sasuke swallows. His throat is dry, and his eyes twist into a foul crimson.

Hunger?

Hadn't he just fed? It was the evening of the attack, when they'd dragged the soon-to-be corpse backed to his mansion. He'd grabbed another mordantly awed criminal.

Sasuke's dead heart pumps harshly. _Sh-Shit. No time--_He couldn't just kill anyone, anyone from Konoha.

He runs.

Bursting through the first underbrush, he tumbles into a hill of dirt, searching for a clearing. Air whizzes across his hot cheeks, and he pants. His eyes scream fire. Sprinting full speed, he's nearly three full kilometers away. He has to stop.

Gagging and clenching onto a rough tree, Sasuke vomits. Red pools. He vomits blood. He sinks to the tree's hard roots, crashing to his back. Leaves burst beneath him. He searches, freezing completely. His ears twitch as a creature sprints past a nearby bush. Jolting to his feet, Sasuke explodes onto the creeping rabbit, choking down its juices. His emphasized knuckles rip through its fur, and he wrings its corpse above his lips. The crack of spine leaves his hearing. Liquid dribbles, matching the fading color in his eyes.

They dillute to a stark gray as he collapses again. Birds and other creatures flutter backward, leaving Sasuke in a silent radius. His lids fall wearily.

Hunger?

* * *

Kimimaro smirks to himself. His eyes are shut.

Sliding her chair back, Sakari glances at the clock. Just a couple of minutes. She scribbles on her paper again, unsettled. Her gaze wanders to the dirt cut outs at the foot of her desk, shaped to the frame of someone's soles. It's then that a clammy wave shudders from her spine up, and she freezes.

Kimimaro turns to her.

It was the closest thing to a sign, a sense. A cold sweat beads at the back of her neck, and she lets out a quick breath.

"Are you okay?"

Sunlight continues to bleed from the window, and a mellow breeze meanders from its narrow opening. Papers flutter excitedly.

Unfocused, she looks at him. He tilts his eyes to her, his smirk still there. "There's something in the air," he hisses softly. She hears him start toward her, his

loose clothes rustling under his walk. He stands casually in front of her. At least, appearing casually.

Sakari parts her mouth, standing immediately. "You."

"What about me?" he whispers. He draws closer, and his silver hair falls back to reveal the sharp mold of his face. He pushes past the desk between them,

a phantom about classroom objects. The unaligned tiles of the floor crack beneath him. His chistled lips form words, "What is it you've considered?"

Sweeping her bag from her feet, Sakari quickly clears her way to the door. Her back is to him.

Kimimaro straightens behind her, pausing and then gathering his own things. "Well, it's over," his tone is bland again, the same coarse harmony. "How time tends to fly."

Sakari brushes the knob with her thumb. Her legs quiver beneath her, but her face is stolid, but not yet hard.

"I expect you to keep well on your feet," Kimimaro murmurs from behind her. "I know people like you have a knack of escaping authority."

"What are you implying?" she asks cooly. She turns the knob.

"Stay out of detention, of course," he says, feinting surprise. "What other meaning could I possibly intend?"

Pulling open the door, Sakari strides out. It crashes behind her. Kimimaro smiles brazenly, opening the door again. His gaze slides down the hallway, but it's barren, empty.

* * *

Sasuke licks his lips slowly and carefully, dropping the corpse of a now-dead boy. He leans back, making contact with the grimy walls of an assylum.

It's where he'd found his victim, the cowering boy with such severe Schizophrenia that the doctors had already decided his death. They were going to take it into their own hands. Sasuke cringes at the thought as he sucks his stained fingers. He wonders if there was any point in hiding the patient's corpse. What an interest it would be to see what the so-called doctors would conclude of the messy scene.

Sasuke faces the backyard of the old building, a leafy stretch of useless plains. Who would desire a home beside an assylum?

Resting his head, Sasuke closes his eyes wearily. He'd never before heard of--much less, experienced an outburst of such hunger. It was a good thing he'd taken the blood of an animal; it gave him time to flee Konoha, to come here. _The blood of an animal_. What would the others say?

The night sounds breezily, gentle chirps arising under the sillhouettes of stars. Wind kisses each of his cheeks, and he exhales in a murmur. Breathing was such a comfort, far from an essential, but a comfort. He moans to himself, begging for sleep to take him. He knows he has to move, has to go home.

His desire from the morning had reversed over the day, and he longed just to sit.

The boost in energy should have replenished him, but it'd only left him dizzy and exhausted. He shakes his head, the pulse of pain returning his temple. He had to stand.

Five more minutes.

A shrill shriek echoes. _Shut up_, Sasuke groans mentally, thinking the noise to be from his own ears. He grits his teeth as the noise persists, and it takes him another minute to realize it's his handphone.

Snatching the screaming device from his pocket, Sasuke barks into it. "Hey?"

"Yo," says a mellow voice. "It's ton prof."

Sasuke answers with impatience, "What?"

"Kakashi," the voice goes on with feinted surprise. "You should really brush up on those langua--"

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asks. His voice edges.

"Now, now, younger Uchiha. Patience is a virtue."

Only if eternity had dumped one Hatake Kakashi on you. Sasuke rubs the side of his head. "Sure. What are you calling for?"

There's a pause, and then Kakashi's voice returns cheerily. "It's your friend," Kakashi says swiftly. "He's up and kickin'!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. Or Radiant Gardens. x3

Please leave reviews! They go much appreciated!!

* * *

Sasuke's jaw hardens, and his brows fold together in anguish. "Naruto?!" he demands.

"Mhmm," Kakashi continues. "I just locked the door. No worries, his windows have been locked from the beginning."

"What's he doing?" Sasuke questions quickly.

"He could've been awake for a while, just lying there," Kakashi replies drowsily. "But he's screaming now. Hear it?"

Pausing, Sasuke's ears strain through the muffled sound from the metal.

"Are you coming?" Kakashi asks.

Sasuke nods, only to remember that the older man can't see him. "Yeah, of course."

With that, the receiver clicks wistfully. Sasuke frowns, a dark contrast. Hell knows what he's thinking.

Breathing another moment, he stands and collects a complacent center. Truthfully, he's more comfortable in this no-named town. Now that hunger has ceased to blind him, he can sense the auras of one other of his kind, half a mile away. It was that familiar assurance that he knew where he was.

Konoha was shrouded in black and a maze of sound-proof walls. One "vampire" would reveal him or herself at a time, each time with a knowing smirk. And Sasuke knew nothing.

Prepared for the run, Sasuke inhales that last strand of assurance, sanity, and dashes from the assylum's corner. He relishes that taste of wind and his pace quickens. His advanced eyes glow hotly in shadows of the sky. He swoops past a lone couple, walking an inch an hour from his sight. Unsuspecting of the raven creature, they continue contentedly. Sasuke sprints, already meters away. He could run for days.

* * *

Kakashi sits contentedly across the screaming room, scanning his faithful little novel. He sits in another one of the Uchiha mansion's dens, one leading to four other hallways and adjacent to five guest rooms. He lies across a sofa, elbows resting on the chair arms and hands clutching his book. He smiles ridiculously behind its cover, absorbed in the absurd plot.

It was God-sent luck that he happened to be dropping by while the house was empty of masters. Where the young Uchiha and the soon-to-be were, was beside him. Kakashi had slipped into the house easily; he only needed to knock. From his knowledge, one of the young-appearing servants had a fancy for him, a petite blood-sucker called Rin.

The servants were a calm mass, standing stern outside a closed-off room. Yelps banged from the doorway, and the occupant's flurried shadow flickered at the space between the door's bottom and the planked floor. Kakashi was satisfied to be showered in salutations and humble pleas for help.

So he'd phoned the "young master" and was reigned a hero. And now he remains in the cozy old den, stuck to a dusty sofa, but dust is no matter to an entranced man. Kakashi grins, flipping two pages at once.

The den is medium-sized, a shadow of the castle's full scale. Tangled cobwebs line the room's corners, gliding the cracked paint of the walls. The chairs' cushions wheeze at every movement of the users. The lights are dim, two of the gothic chandelier's bulbs flickering simultaneously. The rusted chain that sustains it wobbles.

"A message, Hatake-sama," a servant murmurs behind him, just loud enough to cover the hoarse cries of Naruto. He holds a folded parchment.

"Mmm...mmm..." Kakashi holds out a polite hand and thanks the short vampire. Dropping the paper to his knee, Kakashi looks back to his book. He smooths his gray hair with a gloved hand, humming.

"Ah! Mistress, you return!" a female servant calls across the thin walls.

There's a pause in noise, an elapse quick enough to make room for a nod.

"Hatake-sama is in the other room. The boy--" the cracked voice of the woman fades from hearing as her voice lowers. The sound of steps crescendoes, ceasing finally behind Kakashi. A harder bang arises from the adjacent room, and Sakari back-steps out of reflex.

"Hey! Someone let me outta here!"

"So he's really awake," Sakari says softly. She rubs her eyes with one hand. "Is it wise to talk right outside of him?"

"From what I understand, his voice is too loud to make room for ours." Kakashi marks his place, his eyes settling on one line, and he shuts the book.

"Where have you been?"

Exhaling, her fingers crumple the couch's worn material. She replies dismissively, "You teachers should mind your own business." She turns her gaze to the leaflet on his leg. Her expression changes oddly. "A message?"

"Read it out loud." Kakashi hands her the paper.

Sakari unfolds it, opening her lips. "'Addressed to Hatake Kakashi. A couple of orders from that kid, and I'm here. Look what's become of us. I'll be arriving in Konoha in a day. Signed--'" she drops her held breath "'--Iruka.'"

Kakashi's face brightens, like a child discovering presents, but he says nothing.

"Someone get me the fuck out of here!"

Sakari changes her attention again. "He's going to starve. We can't wait anymore."

"Then go inside and explain things to him."

The chandelier's crystals tremble under the waves of the walls. The open window clatters against its frames. Sakari examines the faulting wood of the door; she steps forward, but someone else dashes into the room.

"I'll do it."

"Sasuke." Sakari acknowledges him blandly.

The dark boy strides further inside, frowning at the quivering door. Behind him, Sakari's brows furrow downward. She opens her mouth to speak, but

Kakashi cuts in. "You're covered in blood."

Sasuke nods stiffly. "I fed, so what?"

Kakashi shrugs. "Well, you'll scare the kid to death if you walk in like that."

Huffing annoyedly, Sasuke looks from the teacher to the shaking doorway and concedes. "Then I'll be right back." He stops his eyes at Sakari and moves forward. He stands just a few centimeters taller. His voice comes quiter than expected, "Are you alright? You look--"

She turns away. "Just tired. I'm gonna try to sleep." She walks down a certain corridor, and Sasuke quickly ensues.

Kakashi settles back to his novel, a smile creeping as he looks from his book to parchment. He opens the novel, sticking the note in the back, for later use of marking.

* * *

By the time Sasuke returns to the den, Kakashi is gone. A quick message delivered by a flustered servant is all remaining. Sasuke moves uneasily, an odd sort of fear in his frozen throat. Thoughts scour at the back of his head, and he longs faintly to see to the abnormally pale Sakari. The adjacent door crinkles wearily.

"Some...b-body..."

Sasuke sighs, moving hurriedly and turning the knob's rusty lock. The door bursts open, and a panting blonde pushes past it, charging with a growl.

"Finally! Now get ready to--" Naruto stops and stumbles backward. "H-Hey--S-Sasuke?? Wh-What the hell. This is your place?"

Lids twitching, Sasuke nods dismissively. "Come on, you hungry?"

Naruto edges out of the room, staring at his stomach. "Y-Yeah, I guess."

Sasuke twists to another hallway, to a small kitchen with a single stove and table. The lights are dim, and pale moonlight floats through the wide window. A small Styrofoam bowl sits on the table. "There."

Naruto creeps from the doorway before entering. He shakes a little and examines the old walls; he knocks on them curiously.

"Are you coming?" the black-haired boy says tiredly.

Giving his attention to Sasuke, Naruto's eyes widen. "That's it?? That tiny thing? This place is huge! It's gotta have way more food."

"I don't have a lot of guests," Sasuke chooses his words carefully. He leans against the wall, motioning for his friend to sit.

Naruto does just that, finding a pair of disposable chopsticks beside his steaming bowl and shoving his face into the hot noodles.

Sasuke cringes a little; beneath his lips, his tongue runs over his jagged fang.

Naruto slops down the instant soup with a hungry gulp and wipes his mouth. Satisfied, he looks up, a narrow scare in his eyes."So--Wh-What happened

back there, with that freak?" he says cautiously. "I mean, Sakari was there. And you, too! I was just--"

"Why were you there?" Sasuke glares.

Flinching, Naruto looks back warily. "I--um--After you guys left, I went to the warehouse. Then I sort of wandered 'cause no one was there. And I heard yelling and voices and--" The poor boy swallows, becoming increasingly unsettled at each of Sasuke's stares. "You're not gonna eat me, are you?"

Sasuke freezes, and he feels his elbows quiver. Had the boy discovered their nature?

Naruto's eyes widen in horror, and he stands quickly, edging towards the exit. "I-I was just jo--"

"Joking!" Sasuke says quickly, a little loudly. His shoulders drop in relief. "Y-Yeah, me too. Why the hell would I eat you, dobe? Figure you'd probably taste like crap anyway."

Naruto laughs uneasily and stares at his empty bowl. "Uh--Is there any more? I'm so damn hungry, and it's only been a couple of hours..."

"Six days, actually," Sasuke contributes. He waits for a reaction before scavenging for another instant bowl; it was best not to call for a servant at this time.

"Six freaking days??" Naruto screams, slamming his fists in a reminiscent fashion to the first school day. "And you wanted to feed me one tiny bowl??"

He kneels to a dusty cabinet below and pulls out a box of instant ramen. Knowing his friend thus far, he'd ordered the servants to stock on human food.

He shoves the entire pack to Naruto. "Is that all you think about?" snorts Sasuke.

Grabbing a bowl from the cardboard pack, Naruto tears open the paper and dashes towards the sink, pouring hot water and flavoring. "Fine. So I'm guessing you saved my ass."

Sasuke returns to his standing position and holds his elbows in his hands. He lifts his neck in a sophistic manner. "Something like that."

"Who were those freaks? Were they from Radiant Garden or something?" Naruto dips his finger in the hot water and squeaks. "The prisses there're crazy.

I'd go shitty if they named our school something fucked up like that, too."

"They weren't from around here," Sasuke mumbles. "Rivals from my last town, you could say."

"Fucking lunatics." Naruto digs into his new bowl hungrily. "Fighting with knives. You too, Sasuke. You're a fucking lunatic. And--" the blonde looks up charily. "Hey, what about Sakari?"

Deep in his throat, Sasuke growls. "Now, she's fine. _Now_."

Naruto slurps a couple of more noodles, staring at the raven before him. "Six days, huh? What happened?" His face twists in anguish. "Aw! I missed the movie!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes. How did something so--well--stupid show any importance? Wasn't the blonde confused?

"Wait, uh, Sasuke," Naruto says sheepishly. Sasuke takes his gaze. "Uh, why didn't you take me to the hospital or shit? And who else knows about me--"

"Getting beat to a pulp?" Sasuke distracts his reply.

"Shut up," Naruto grumbles, "but yeah. Answer the question."

"Didn't wana get questioned. Plus, it wasn't like you were dying." It isnt all a lie.

"All right, then who did you tell?" asks Naruto suspiciously.

Sasuke answers rushedly, "Like I said, teme, we didn't want to get questioned."

A strange look crosses Naruto's narrow face, and he nods slightly. He stands, pushing away his noodle bowl. He regards the dainty room and fingers the wood-carved chairs, the simple table. He does this all, with the same aghast shadow in his eyes. "I think I'm gona go now..."

"You can't."

Naruto looks up to his friend nervously; his fingers clench onto the back of his chair. His blonde spikes seem to rises straighter. "Why the hell not?"

"Because you can't."

His voice is simple, and the hairs at Naruto's neck rise apprehensively. What kind of freak show has he stepped into? He chokes on a clump of noodles, dropping his bowl. Soup splatters the ground, but neither of the two seem to notice. "Yes, I can!"

"Listen, Naruto, stay calm," Sasuke says softly. His composed tone, the raven notices, resembles his brother's. His feelings are mixed. "You can't tell anyone about anything."

Naruto stiffens. "Don't you wana call the cops or something? The weirdos got away right?"

"Yeah, but," Sasuke speaks slowly now, "there's something that connects them to us. And it's a secret, something--"

"You mean, when they called me 'human'?" Naruto backs away. "Sasuke, what _are_ you?"

"I said stay calm," says the darker of the boys. "We're not the ones who wanna hurt you. They--"

"Whoah! Who wants to hurt me?" Naruto demands. "Those guys are after me now? What is this, a horror fest?"

"Not exactly," Sasuke sighs. "Just let me finish. We--"

"No, pretty boy. Answer me!" Naruto breaks out in a yell. "What are you?"

"An immortal," Sasuke hisses, "if it will shut you up." It does. "Look, all you need to know is we can't trust you, at the moment. I'll put it in simple terms.

You were never supposed to see us, and as far as our coven's concerned, this has never happened before. So someone has to come and pass judgment on you. You're gonna have to stay put until then."

"Then I can go?" Naruto squeaks.

He nods riggedly. "If he lets you."

"Then who's this bastard I have to suck up to?" Naruto grunts. Strangely enough, he calms down. Sasuke silently thanks whatever God for sending him.

Sasuke's lips press into a grim line, "My brother."

* * *

Sakari drops a heavy towel over her wet hair before slipping inside the dark bedroom. The door eases shut behind her, and she leans against it jadedly.

Her arms fold as she looks across to the open balcony. Wind sighs at its edges but cannot penetrate the black of the room. Long branches grope for the stone arms.

She strides to the long bed where she'd unceremoniously dropped her bags. Her clothes and belongings that Sasuke had insisted she keep there. The white sheets stretch over the huge mattress, idiomatic compared to the night air. They're smooth and unslept in.

Her bare foot lifts from the grass-like carpet; she bends to grab her phone from the school bag. It isn't special, neither a new model nor an old. Sakari flips it open before striding outside for a breath.

The stone does nothing for her exposed soles, not a scratch or a mark. The circular moon reflects her fangs but revels in her eyes, an uncommon, wet hazel. The morrow will be a new moon, she knows that. Sakari's thumb holds down the number 3. The '1' key was voicemail; '2' was obsolete. A shredded leather chain hides behind her loose sleeping shirt, a ring hanging; the moon searches for more light.

She hears the receiver pulse like beats, heartbeats.

Ba bump.

The air wisps in white strings. Yet another winter was advancing, stalking on its frozen haunches. White strings, like _silver_. Sakari shivers. The receiver pauses before automating to a nonexistent voice mail. One.

Sakari shuts her phone before calling again; she doesn't bother to press it to her ear. Her elbows rest on the carved railings, and she looks without watching. The manor stretches to an empty graveyard. No corpses lay in that field, only cracked slates of marble. Nevertheless, a graveyard. Bump.

The voice mail sounds; two.

She closes her phone again, and this time shuts the speaker. She holds it to her face, imagining the stretch of the castle. A cobble-stoned path runs from the backest door, an exit directly below the balcony, winding at least a third of a kilometer. The receiver rings and cuts off. Then the road forked, to be cliché, and a forest erupted from the right. To the left was the marble graveyard.

Three.

"What's wrong?" the soft voice compresses into the hand phone, and yet the wind chills a little more.

Sakari spots the fork finally, her advanced eyes magnifying it. No, the graveyard was to the right. The forest lay to the left. Had she come to convince herself otherwise?

A dark sigh floods through speakers, but there is no question in the tone. The tone is thick, not broad; it reserves itself in a whisper. "Sakari."

"Come," she murmurs. Her gaze loses the path's fork. Instead she can see only grass, trees. Slight movement as the wind moves again. "Now."

The tone clicks, and the phone moans a monotone beep. A recording soon covers it up, and Sakari hangs up. Her eyes release their strain and raise inaudibly, looking.

* * *

Please **review**!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto!!

**Announcement:** C'est l'anniversaire d'Itachi. June 9th. Happy B-day, Love! x3

* * *

The fuck.

This was too much. It was like gravity just reversed, and everyone was hanging onto their rooves with their pants over their heads. Couldn't the world freeze for one itty-bitty damn second for a kid to catch his breath?

Naruto twitches slightly at the _intimate_ sight before him. Finding that your new friend's an "immortal"--whatever that means--is bad enough. But then seeing your Goddamn teacher practically groping this stranger. Now, that's too much.

Visitors were normal. And so Kakashi and this stranger's _visiting_ hadn't been strange. Sasuke had at least mention the lazy teacher to be involved.

It was the most he'd said of anything, in fact. Naruto had spent the night, falling asleep on the kitchen counter, and still knew almost nothing about his situation.

So the stranger--a brunette with short hair in a tie and two sizzling scars crossed between almond eyes--walked in and gave Naruto this look, a friendly look. And before he could react to this, Kakashi-sensei just--

Naruto grumbles to himself, queasy from picturing the scene twice already. Had the idea of "bad-influencing" reversed, too?

"It's the real world," Sasuke contributes, spotting Naruto's horrified expression, "whatever you consider to be 'real'. Never figured you to be a prude."

"I am not!" Naruto shoots back reflexively. "But that's just--Well--" The blonde ducks down, flushed.

Sasuke and Naruto sit at the grand stairs in the mansion's foyer. The steps' wood groans beneath them, threatening to cave in. A very light sheet of dust blends with the wood's fibers, clean compared to the house's outskirts. Across the cracked marble floor, Kakashi and the stranger stand together, by the wide entrance. To the side, a hurrying servant dusts the old walls.

Sasuke starts. "That's--"

"U-Umino Iruka." The brunette emerges forward. He coughs, as if it would wipe the crimson from his cheeks. "I'm sorry about that."

"No problem, dude," Naruto says, scratching his ear, "Sensei totally took you by surprise. Most people directly go for the butt, but he had a battle plan, sketched, planned, and colored."

Iruka laughs uneasily before removing his shoes and walking farther into the mansion. He appears about Kakashi's age, the late twenties look. By now,

Naruto knows better than to trust appearance. Kakashi ensues closely, but Iruka hops out of the way. "I guess that you're Naruto," he digresses skillfully.

After a nod of affirmation from the boy, Iruka continues. "Well, I suppose you can call me Sensei, too. I'll be taking a job at your high school." He smiles evenly, and his voice is friendly enough. Naruto cocks over his head.

"You mean if scary freakshow man let's me live," Naruto says thoughtfully. He picks at a splinter at the stairway's feet. "I'm gonna guess you know the tragic story."

Iruka nods with that same honest smile. "You've nothing to fear, Naruto."

And for some reason, Naruto believes him. He sits back, cooled.

"And--forgive me for the delayed greeting--Good day, Uchiha Sasuke," Iruka bows lowly. Kakashi bows a little as well.

Naruto whistles. He addresses Sasuke, "Hey, pretty boy, why's your greeting so much fancier than mine?"

"He's royalty," Iruka offers.

Kakashi adds, "As you should have noticed."

"Whoah, what else didn't you tell me?" he exclaims. Naruto watches his glaring friend with an innocent grin. Sasuke opens his mouth to retort back but a mellow tone interrupts.

"Sensei?" Sakari descends from the grand, twisting stairs with her school bag. Her auburn hair is loose and ruffled; half of it is tied back and the other half sprawls messily. Her voice sounds even more tired then yesterday.

Iruka looks up and approaches cheerfully. He stands at least half a foot taller and, although small, he seems to stretch broad in comparison to the girl.

"Sakari," he says before briefly hugging her, the embrace of a father. Sakari struggles a little before becoming still. She shifts uncomfortably.

Naruto pokes Sasuke irritably. "You didn't tell me Sakari was _here_. You fancy little liar!"

"I didn't lie," Sasuke replies, watching the thin girl. "Just didn't tell the whole truth."

Iruka releases her but examines her more closely. "You haven't changed at all."

"I can't," she mumbles, looking down.

"I was joking," Iruka says lightly. "But you look more tired. You have been sleeping on occasion, haven't you?"

"On occasion," Sakari answers lowly.

"She can't risk sleeping. She could end up missing school days!" Kakashi approaches the two, jerking little Iruka closer to him.

_Ew_. Naruto turns back to Sasuke.

"You're one to talk," Sasuke says, regarding Kakashi.

Bending his neck and whispering loudly, Naruto leans closer to Sasuke. "What does he mean about the sleeping?"

"Let's just say we tend to oversleep."

"Sasuke, I'm gonna head out early," Sakari calls. Her voice, Sasuke notices, is scathed.

Iruka broads over her like an umbrella, but he stands not in her way. "I hope you've been taking care of yourself," he says with a quilt of concern.

"Yeah..." her voice trails, and she looks at Iruka, a little hurt in her gaze. Iruka pats her head with a thin-lipped smile.

"Leave well," he nods.

"I'll go with you," Sasuke volunteers, standing and pulling his bag from his side.

From under, Naruto glares. "What, I'm getting left alone?"

"Nope, you're under our wing," Kakashi slumps next him. "Why else would we be here?"

"To visit them," Iruka regards Kakashi sternly.

"Are you guys actually older than Uchiha, here?" Naruto asks skeptically.

"Older than you."

"See you, dobe," Sasuke grunts on his way out.

Sakari nods to Iruka minutely before leaving the same way.

* * *

After a silent walk to school, collages of conversation are almost soothing.

Sakari slumps into her customary back seat, already eyeing the clock. Today would be insufferable, she knows it.

The slow saunter there had undermined all half-hearted hopes of arriving early, so gossip and conversation flood earshot once again. Sakari looks beside her to Kisame, sporting pointy shades and a heart-winning grin. His arms are sprawled around the girls from the other day and a couple of newcomers.

He nods to Sakari with his cheshire expression before turning back to his party.

Amused, Sakari looks back to her notepad, void of curiousity to his sudden disinterest.

"Satoshi--" someone calls blandly.

She ignores the caller until the emerge in front of her, their hands slamming on her desk.

"No, Sakari," Kimimaro says softly, bending lower to be level with her face. Biting her tongue, she leans back with a frown.

From beside her, Kisame turns. He eyes Kimimaro distrustfully. "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Kimimaro replies lowly, "No worries, Hoshigaki. I'm just getting to my seat." He makes a sharp turn to Sakari's other side and his hand jerks to her shoulder.

She yields forward like a rag doll, finding it troublesome to fight back. She glares and murmurs, "What do you want?"

"Meet me in the 100's corridor, next period," he whispers. "I'll explain everything."

"What's there to explain?" Her voice is hostile. She shoves him back, and he falls away, heading toward another area of the class. Sakari moves her gaze only to see Kisame staring at her intensely. She points her glare to him before looking back to her hands.

* * *

So the blonde boy had awakened.

Kabuto growls deep in his throat. He can barely keep up his facade today. Beside him, Suigetsu laughs a gutteral laugh. Kiba had apparently told some joke. Manifesting an easy smile, Kabuto rounds glances with the rest of his party. Karin, a popular if not loose girl in his year, flutters her long lashes to him. His smile hints no cynicism. Suigetsu and Kiba both clap him on the back, and another grinning girl--no, boy eyes him happily.

The group sits atop the desks in classroom 104, a circle of the "popular" group, the people to envy. For Kabuto, it was top priority to attain the highest status possible while assimilating into societies. Even if they were _humans_, Kabuto always strived for the best. When he reached the top, he could control everyone around him on puppet strings.

It was a reason why he'd ended up in the Uchiha-run coven. Previously, he had wandered a century alone, a rogue. That was before he'd stumbled upon Sunagakure. Immediately, he'd sensed great energy of his kind and he'd rushed to the source of the power.

And lady luck shone favorably on him, as this power revealed itself to be none other than the famed Uchihas. It was a wake, for the lost souls in their war with the Senjus. And the wake for the lost clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku. For he and his mate, Mikoto, were truly lost, and no one knew where they'd gone. Some claimed they saw his body's destruction and the glow of his soul before running into the wind. Others claimed they'd seen him walking, physically present and well. Those particularly in the Uchiha's coven argued that Fugaku had actually died, that death was his reward.

Personally, Kabuto preferred his new master's version. Afterall, the eldest _would_ have the greatest perspective on their parents' disappearance. And it was cleanest explanation of the three.

He'd finally entered the Uchihas' service just years ago.

Kabuto's hopes for "pulling strings" had not dampened after he'd met Uchiha's new leader, though he knew then that chances of obtaining absolute control were slim. Such power and prestige, the Uchiha's held. And who was Kabuto? Just a commoner who knew medicine. He barely had over 150 years.

"Hey, you two okay? You're just zoning out? Is something going on I don't know about?" Suigetsu shakes his shoulder.

Kabuto looks up and laughs. "Yes, but it wouldn't be the first time, now would it?"

Karin's laughter is an over-exaggerated shriek as she points to blubbering Suigetsu.

Kabuto uses this distraction to turn to the other boy Suigetsu had directed the question to.

To his farther left, Kimimaro broods to himself silently. A usual partaker in conversation, the silvery boy sits apprehensively, shoulders raised and hard collarbone flexed in discomfort. His expression is colder than usual.

Attending the school for three years, Kabuto had his suspicions towards the foreign adolescent, so he'd made it his task to social with him as often as possible. Truth to be told, he knew almost nothing about the true natures of his character.

"I'm fine, Suigetsu," Kimimaro says with a shake of his head. "Headaches."

"Well, class! Attention on me!" a high, authorative voice exclaims. Faces turn to the front of the room as Kurenai-sensei reaches her desk. "Sit, everyone!"

And people obey but not without dropping a couple of swift comments to their friends.

"Now!" Kurenai says, holding a cup of tea to her mouth. "The bell has rung, twice. And I see there are five empty seats. Can any of you enlighten me as to why this is?"

"They're late," Suigetsu jeers sarcastically. Kiba, beside him, snickers.

Kurenai narrows her eyes and purses her lips. "Thank you, Suigetsu. Now, class--"

It's then that the door swings wide open, arching noiselessly and pausing before slamming into the wall, as if in awe. A chill enters the student closest to the door as their eyes open wide. A stranger, appearing their age, wisps inside.

The newcomer stalks inside silently, and though a figure of undeniable masculinity, he is beautiful. His breath is inaudible, and his dark eyes, animalistic, burn to life amidst the day's gray. Midnight hair sweeps over his shoulder, binded carelessly, camouflaging in the stark black of his open collar. His strides rustle with borne grace, even beneath slashed jeans.

His face. His face sets off with a fine jawline, moving to hidden ears, and ending in the shadow of his hair. Loose strands fall past his eyes, over rugged lines and a white scar. His bloodless lips part as he regards the contents of the classroom silently; his gaze pauses over no one, until he reaches the shaking teacher in the front. His eyes yield, obviously finding the class's central authority.

His words are soft, "I apologize for coming late."

Karin squeaks.

Flustered and stammering, Kurenai sets down her tea to keep it from spilling. She stares at her hands before clenching them in fists and regaining control of herself. "I-I'm guessing you're the new student," she says, face red, "Uchiha Itachi."

Itachi nods, donning the appropriate measure of courtesy. "Yes."

"Well! Then take a seat over there!" Kurenai points aimlessly.

Smiling briefly, Itachi sweeps to the mean area of her directions.

"Oh," Kurenai looks back towards him, "you wouldn't happen to know about our other newcomer today? His name's Sasor--"

"Present, Sensei." A quiet figure slips through open doorway. Red hair sparks from his scalp, but his expression is dull and detached. He scurries quickly to sit beside Itachi, and they nod to each other unobtrusively.

Kabuto turns in the direction of the new students, feinting scrutiny. But Itachi catches his gaze quickly. Feeling his throat constrict and color rising to his cheeks, Kabuto's face falters, and he grunts to himself. Smirking, Itachi looks away, any sign of recognition soon void.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto! (and thank god for that)

Please remember to review!

* * *

By some miracle, the narrow hallway of Konoha's high school is empty, ten minutes into the fifth period.

Kimimaro stands upright, his back to the locker racks. He crosses his arms darkly and sighs. Perhaps he'd hinted too abruptly his true nature. It'd been a while since he'd communicated with the more cunning strangers of _his_ kind. If he'd spoken the same words to a human, the poor creatures, they would never even feel obliged to react. Maybe he had spent too much time among them.

He looks up slowly. By his advanced senses, he can hear footsteps from the adjacent hall. They crescendo, the noise buzzing in his ears.

He opens his mouth for a greeting but no such escapes. Instead, he murmurs, "You came."

Sakari narrows her eyes. "So I had a choice?"

"One always does," he says. His manner is not rude, yet his voice is ice.

Kimimaro studies the pale girl before him. She really seemed no more harmless than someone like Karin, maybe less. Her shoulders heave tiredly, but her eyes glisten, alert.

"What do you have to say to me?" Sakari asks, eyeing him.

He dips his head a little before taking a step forward. "I would've thought you'd be more curious. Especially after yesterday's events."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Enough with this facade, Vampire," he says, a quiet hiss. "I see you're ring of rhyzite. And I chose to speak with you alone for a reason."

Taking a slow step to the left, Sakari watches him. There's a pause before she speaks again. "So you use the human phrase."

"As you once did." Kimimaro's face is stolid as he advances. "Or do you refuse to acknowledge that past?"

She recoils and glares. "Why should I?"

"Don't be angry," he continues softly. "I'm simply speaking on accord to propoganda. After all, you did choose this life."

Shaking her head unobtrusively, Sakari tightens her jaw. "Yesterday, in the detention room, what did you do that triggered senses? Konoha is a place void of aura."

"Ah, finally, a meaningful subject. But it isn't what I had planned to discuss." Approaching her, Kimimaro tilts his face. "Would you hear me out thoroughly if I answered your question?"

"I'm not striking deals with you."

"Don't think of it as a deal but a compromise," he answers.

Sakari still glares, but she signals compliance.

Kimimaro smiles strangely. "Your question does bring me into my subject. You've probably already extracted the fact that I am not like you.

_Vegetarians_. I believe that's how you lot speak of us." At a stiff nod, he continues. "But that isn't my only distinguishing trait. I belong to the ancient, extinct clan, Kaguya. I doubt you've heard of them."

He sees her gaze wander slightly. When her eyes tuck away in confusion, he knows that she does not recognize the name. Continuing, his face grows impassive once again. "They were an ancient coven, and they selected no one but their clansmen to join their ranks. But to make a long story short, they were annihilated, by each other. When I say 'extinct', I refer to our posed and artificial forms of death. When their wounds became so hellish and spreads, their bodies collapsed and their souls were emitted into the air. Right now--"

"They still wander, consciously. And they sense everything but are sensed by nothing else. They are utterly alone and damned," Sakari finishes brusquely. "I know the process."

He bows a little, whether mocking or not, she cares little.

Kimimaro carries on. "We were the first of our kind to be born in this world. And so we learned the greatest and most sulfurous of powers, most of which I will not speak of. But know this, I am capable of overcoming such unoriginal things as shrouded towns and villages. This moment, I could reveal to you the cold of my aura's presence."

"I'd prefer if you didn't."

"Then I will continue unto my own concerns," he says. "My people were barbarians, disgusting in their intents and foolish in their prejudices. I take my chance at living to," he considers, "_compensate _for their hellish behavior."

"So you want to be a hero," she cuts in boredly. "Then starve yourself for now of necessary drinks and regret it when later you stand, dazed, over a menagerie of human corpses, of your doing."

"Heroism isn't my desire," he says bitterly. "Call it suicide."

Sakari raises a brow, pausing in movement. "What?"

"We are immortals, Sakari," he whispers, striding forward. He catches her arm and forces her to share his gaze. "And to nourish ourselves in these stretched, vile lives, we are compelled to take those lives that are true. Humans live so shortly, and yet they can cling, cling onto their love and their hate, until the climactic end. We--"

"That's still heroism." She struggles from his grip and backs a step. Yet she continues to watch him, intent.

"I do not care for the humans as deeply as others of my kind do," Kimimaro says. "I am selfish. I am spoiled. I want to move to a different life, but it is impossible. For eternity, I will be, always, Kaguya Kimimaro. Even if my body becomes broken, my soul will still wander in this world. Is this not what you've feared from the day you were changed, Satoshi Sakari?"

Sakari catches her breath, unbelieving to the confidence of his words. This time he sweeps forward in a graceful arch, grabbing her thin shoulder. His tense fingers pulse against her skin with an artificial beat.

"But there is a way to death, and you know it," his voice lowers.

Her eyes narrow incredulously. "Rogues?"

He smiles icily. "Right. In those short instants that your hunger drives you rogue, you are the most vulnerable. You are capable of dying, body, mind, and soul."

"But only few are capable of killing," she says quickly. "There are overwhelming chances that you won't die. The--" she hesitates "--_vampire_ that does the killing must be a certain person."

Kimimaro smirks wryly. "That's--"

"Enough."

Sakari's face jerks to the side, stretching to look behind her. Kimimaro, however, can look straight ahead, and his lips twist in scorn. Straightening, he glowers towards the figure before him, his free hand clenching and his other flexing forcefully on Sakari's shoulder. "Uchiha Itachi."

Itachi watches Kimimaro keenly, expressionless. Slowly, his eyes wander to the girl in the other boy's grip and move back steadily. "Kaguya Kimimaro," he says in a soft voice, "I assume."

"You assume correctly," Kimimaro replies. Seeing the Uchiha prince, it isn't much of a wonder how his entrance had remained unnoticed to Kimimaro.

"I see." Itachi steps forward. His dark eyes begin to smolder.

Sakari pulls from Kimimaro's grasp, but his hand grows hostile. Clenching her teeth, she puts an elusive hand on his arm and jerks backward. She wrenches free and steps to the side. Kimimaro seems not to notice, but Itachi looks immediately to her, an unidentifiable seem of recognition there.

"I suggest you leave," Itachi says, his tone low but hard, "and continue not another day."

Kimimaro looks back. The resentment drains from his face, leaving only a cold demeanor. "I am not your subject to command."

"I figured," Itachi replies, "and so it was a suggestion. Do you dare me to enforce it?" His upper lip parts slightly, revealing a glimmer of a fang.

"No, I'd rather not cause a scene in a public place." Exhaling, Kimimaro yields. Retreating a few steps he retorts, "But mark my words, Uchiha. This isn't over." He turns to Sakari, who looks back warily. "Don't forget what I said."

With that final exchange, Kimimaro twists, his back to the two others. He pockets his hands and saunters casually away.

* * *

Through all this commotion, Sasuke still hadn't forgotten that _hunger_ incident. The sizzling desire, the need to feed. Leaning into the old warehouse's huge window frame, the boy grumbles to himself.

"Yo, Sasuke, what's up with you?" Sai calls from below.

Sasuke looks down to see his friend enter smoothly with Shikamaru at his side. The latter glances up at Sasuke darkly and then twists away with a scowl. "What's up with him?" he yells back.

Sai hops to Sasuke's ledge, hanging on by his arms. "Probably still pissed about Naruto disappearing," he replies in an undertone. He regains normal dynamics, "So I hear you ditched after sixth period."

"Who told you?" Sasuke huffs.

"Sakura-chan, naturally," the slanted-eyed boy answers. The two hear Shikamaru slink to the ground to sit against the opposite wall. Sai jumps down, searching for his own seat. "So where did you go?"

"Here," Sasuke answers tersely.

"Alright, alright. You could've done something more original," Sai says wistfully. He jumps onto a nearby crate, cracking out a cigarette.

Shikamaru suddenly rises from his brood and announces loudly, "There were more new kids today."

"Really?" Sasuke remembers what Sakari had said about the call for more of their kind. "Who?"

"They're both in their third year," Shikamaru says, "just like the guy from yesterday, Hoshigaki. Turns out they all know each other. And it seems like you know at least one of them."

Sasuke frowns. "What's his name?"

"Uchiha," Shikamaru raises his brow in inquiry, "Itachi."

* * *

"Yo, Itachi!" Kisame's broad voice booms from around the street's curb.

Sakari and Itachi both turn around, and Sakari's lip curves downward.

"So you do know him," she mumbles as the huge boy comes into view.

"Why? Was he bothering you?" Itachi asks, his husky voice evening. He looks her in the eye, and amusement plays there.

She returns his gaze, still frowning. "Was he supposed to?"

"Yes," Kisame answers as he catches up to the two. He grins deviously.

"Actually," a hushed voice joins them, "I believe your orders were simply to watch her, protect her." Its male carrier gaits closer quietly, not a sound nor a crunch in each of his steps. He watches the others with cloudy eyes, blackish red hair falling over them. Regarding Sakari, he murmurs, "You can call me Sasori."

Nodding, she glances at Itachi, and he gives her a meaningful look before turning back to the other two. "We're returning to the manor," he says softly.

"Oh, right, are the other guys going there, too?" Kisame asks as the group continues on their way.

Sasori answers, "It's what they were ordered to do."

"'Other guys'." Sakari crosses her arms. "I think I'm gonna go stop somewhere else first--"

Itachi takes the edge of her hand with a feathery grip. It's enough to force her gaze into his, and though his lips stay firm there's a warmth in his eyes, setting off from the rugged features of his face.

But the moment subsides. "It'll be like another oration," he says, "you'll need to be there."

She stares at his light grasp and looks up at him with a nod.

* * *

"Shit, I have to see him," was his hallow excuse.

Acting wasn't Sasuke's high point, he declared to himself as he made a run for the mansion. But even with Shikamaru in his particular mood, insuring his brother did not do something drastic to his friend was the higher priority, and so he dashes hurriedly, taking a short-cut at the side-street tangle of trees.

Sasuke barely got a chance to see his friends' reactions to his outburst, for he'd left so swiftly.

Seeing the grand house's side in the distance, Sasuke hurtles all the faster, and he winds up crashing into a large tree trunk--which had definitely appeared from no where. He seems to ignore this and speeds into the house. In his ears buzz a thin clatter of conversation, and he, slowing down, walks to the source of the noise. He enters the mansion's main room to meet a crowd.

A crowd?

The first thing Sasuke sees is about six familiar faces and five new ones, lounging about. The second is a flash of violet.

Dazed, Sasuke smashes onto the cold wood of the floor under a great weight. He opens his eyes to be consumed in a scheme of blonde, and, smelling a familiar scent, he manages, "Ino?"

The blonde girl looks up from her embrace and stands quickly with a bright grin. "Who else, Uchiha?" she says, a challenge in her tone. She holds out hand for him, and Sasuke takes it, standing as well.

Ino stands only a couple of inches shorter than him, and he notices absently that she'd allowed herself to grow a little more. Her lips are a bitter fuller than he'd remembered, and her cerulean eyes had slanted inward with the cunning stare a woman. She wears a casual violet dress, the source of the "flash". Noticing his gaze, Ino smiles a smile resembling a cat. "You like the new look?" she starts.

Sasuke frowns and opens his mouth to reply, but she cuts him off.

Something's didn't change.

"You're looking," she scrutinizes him, squinting her eyes as she circles him animalistically. She cranes her neck to search for changes in his hair, shoulders, frame, anything. "You haven't let your body grow at all!" she says, astounded. "I thought you were planning on gaining a couple of inches, to rival your broth--"

"Yo, Sasuke! Check it out!" a scratchy voice calls from the background.

Ino turns to face the interrupter, and her lips purse with disapproval. "It's your human friend."

Naruto bounds towards the duo, holding a thin, panicking girl behind him. "Yo, Sasuke! I didn't know Hinata-chan was one of you!"

"Dobe," Sasuke grunts, "you didn't even know I was one of me."

Ino raises her brow at the familiarity and gives Sasuke a questioning look. He shrugs it off and instead examines the trembling girl beside Naruto. She's a bit shorter than all of them, and she continues to glance at Naruto nervously, as if he'd bite her. It was the first time he'd seen the girl, Hinata, who supposedly attended the same high school. He wasn't too surprised, though, to hear that she was one of their ranks. Her hair is a foreign blue-purple shade, and she wears an oversized white jacket that emphasizes her frail appearance. Her face is round, and her eyes--

Sasuke glowers, and he demands a little too rushedly, "A Hyuga? Then you're related to--"

"That's right, Sasuke," a masculine voice approaches. "It's me, Neji."

The four look to see a tall, well-framed boy staring back. His hair is a bounding black, restrained loosely and its long end. His eyes, however, are what distinguish him. They glitter a cunning silver-white that reflect exactly the watcher's image. Hinata's eyes are exactly the same, but they set off oddly from her innocent face.

Only Sasuke is displeased to see him. Examining the newcomer, Sasuke frowns as he notices that Neji, too, has grown. The white-eyed boy stands at least three inches taller than him, but his lips form a calm line. Only a ghost is left of the haughtiness Sasuke is so used to despising.

Neji regards his former friend indifferently and folds his arms. He nods quick greetings to Hinata and Ino but ignores the grumbling Naruto completely.

"Ino's right, you haven't changed at all," he notes, gaze falling back on Sasuke.

"I haven't seen you for thirty-two years," Sasuke says tiredly. He glances over him again distrustfully.

Neji turns his face. "Not since the King and Queen's memorial."

Creeping closer to Sasuke, Naruto mumbles, "Who is this guy?"

Sasuke nods towards Hinata. "He's her relative."

"Cousin," Hinata murmurs, facing the floor.

Ino watches them boredly. "Well, now that Neji's grown from being a hot-head, I'm guessing you two won't be having your oh-so-famous cat fights anymore."

At a joined frown from both Sasuke and Neji, Ino steps backward, pouting in dissatisfaction. "Come on, guys. We haven't seen each other for years!

Don't you remember growing up in Suna?"

"Of course we do, Ino," Neji chides. "But what is there to say?"

Sasuke looks past his two childhood friends and deeper into the room. Members of his coven and apparently those of others, scatter about the wide lounge. The familiar faces huddle together, as do the foreign. Sasuke can almost feel the degree of separation.

However, he notices an integrated group of five in the corner. Two yell at each other obnoxiously, another one glares at them irritably. Directly beside them stand two familiar figures, though. One is Sakari, a disgruntled expression on her face. The other, beside her, appears indifferent but resolute. As if feeling Sasuke's gaze, their eyes come to rest on him immediately, and Sasuke stiffens.

Naruto, excluded from the conversation, follows his friend's stare and asks, "Who is that?"

Mouth in a grim line, Sasuke replies gruffly. "My brother."


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto! (If I did, it would be over by now...)

Reviews would well welcomed! x3

* * *

"Addressing the coven of fellow Uchihas," Itachi begins.

The striking man stands casually at the front of the room, one hand in his jean pocket, the other at his side. Contrast to this, his strong voice starts the unsettled listeners, and they stare at him expectantly. His detached eyes pass beyond those of the alert crowd. "I assume that a formidable handful of you have noted my absence for the past two years."

Heads in the wide room nod to themselves, but few dare murmur with their neighbor. Eagerly attentive, most sit straight, facing the carved face of their leader. Those of the other coven watch as well, curious, a few even flustered.

The countable exceptions to this include Neji, who warily studies the three strangers beside Itachi, Sakari, and Sasuke, who broods. Sasuke does not watch his brother eagerly but narrows his eyes in a grudging glare. No, he isn't actually angry at his brother. He's just angry.

Seething to himself, Sasuke ignores Ino's concerned glance and swift pokes. Usually, he was a devoutly stolid mask, a faceless manikin. But there was something about his reunion with his older brother that sparked--angst?

"What the hell is up your ass?" Ino mouths to him.

Continuing to glower towards the head figure of the room, Sasuke shrugs.

When everyone had actually settled somewhere in the room--most people on one of the tattered couches or the newly washed floor--Sasuke, Ino, and Neji had taken an empty sofa close to the front. A close-mouthed maid and Hinata had "escorted" Naruto to a room out of human earshot, while the excluded group of five in the back had relocated. Apparently against the will of the other four, Sakari had taken a seat in the general back of the large room. Kabuto replaced her almost on cue. Sasuke had noted this all in his discrete fashion; he'd searched Sakari's faraway gaze for just a slip of an answer. Her lids were low and she had such a pale pallor that he could recognize only trouble.

"...I cannot lie to those that are bound to me as family and fellow," Itachi continues sternly. The room practically tenses in response to his sudden earnest.

"There is a coming trouble, as I am sure many of you have come to notice."

"The wanderers that many have casually come to know as 'vegetarians', our kind that turns from their natural surviving requirement, turn blind eyes from the firm truce that the Old had once formed. They charge at the moral borders once established with behind a leader, a surviving member of the Kaguya clan--" Sasuke notices his brother's gaze fluttering in a sudden direction, but he's unable to trace the location of the quick notion. "--Kaguya Kimimaro. They have an obvious purpose, and that is to spread their clouded beliefs of so-called 'eating habits'," Itachi says the latter harshly. Perhaps he just didn't

like the connotation. "But truly they have other reasons for a sudden need to fight. There are other leaders believed to be working behind this Kaguya Kimimaro, and their purposes, still, could be different from the ones unknown to us. They gather in this town, where we cans sense the presence of no one. And so, we," he refers to the three beside him, "have gathered those of our coven as well. There is more to say of the matter, but I couldn't impress upon you what remain to be my _suspicions_." Itachi pauses, as if considering whether to continue. The shortest figure beside him nods to him.

The crowd of faces shifts glumly, coming alive again. Many sit shocked. Others shake slightly in their seats. Those that stand against the wall straighten in unease, though a select few nod as if they'd expected the sudden news.

"I am known as Sasori, as those of my coven already know," a bland voice cuts in. Sasuke sees that the speaker is the short figure, a subdued-looking redhead with hands folded in his hoodie pockets. He doesn't look like a leader. Itachi steps to the side, his gaze finally moving across the room. When it nears Sasuke, it lightens with short amusement, and it's only the ache in his stiff jaw that reminds Sasuke of his still-brooding glower. Giving his brother one last grudging stare, Sasuke eases his countenance, now slightly embaressed.

Itachi's face regains its indecipherable quality, though it does darken grimly. The darkness tends to outline his handsome features. Those that aren't already alarmed, become thin-lipped and anxious. What could so deeply concern their untouchable leader?

"It can be said that we--that is, Uchiha and I--have come to a mutual understanding, and temporarily, our covens will be working along each other--as long as our intentions are," Sasori considers, "similiar."

"So that explains it," Ino murmurs to Neji. He nods and regards his soft-spoken cousin. Hinata, and the rest of her coven, seem just as surprised as the others. Her colorless eyes quiver apprehensively.

Truces between covens were uncommon, to say the least. Sasuke can hear his comrades' focused silence dissipate as they begin to whisper amongst themselves. _And who can blame them_, Sasuke thinks. A truce was an uncharacteristic move on his brother's part, not unwise, but uncharacteristic.

He looks to Neji, whose brows have become furrowed and strained. "Itachi's right," the ivory-eyed boy broods, "the 'enemy's' intentions don't seem right."

He turns to Sasuke coldly. "You should ask him what he meant by 'suspicions'."

"You think he'd listen to me?" Sasuke says wryly. "That's a great reflection on how much you know me."

"We know I-Itachi-sama--" Ino blushes slightly "--doesn't confide much in others. But--"

"Certain 'others'," Neji muses, his gaze straying.

Sasuke gives him a glare so packed and meaningful that Neji physically backs an inch. "I already meant to talk to him..."

"And that," Sasori continues finally, in a tone so bland that few hear him at first. But those of his coven, used to his physical smallness, swiftly silence the others with narrow glances. They turn back to their leader reverently. "That is why we gather in this muffled town. To those who don't know, the two to my right are Hoshigaki Kisame," he nods further, "and Arev Zetsu."

He ends there abruptly, and his people seem used to it. It isn't as if it's a speech.

People rise uneasily, finally speaking to each other in normal tones. Conversation arises, giving the illusion that Sasuke and Hinata hadn't yet left the gossiping hallway of his high school.

Sasuke sees his brother start to leave and decides that that's as best a cue as any. He stalks forward.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ino splutters after him, but Neji stops her.

"He's going to his brother," he says with a frown. "Probably about his human friend."

"Oh," she smooths her blonde hair with a bored sigh. "But he forgot to unlock the brat!"

"Itachi!"

Sasuke grunts as he all but dashes down the mansion's musty corridor. Had it always been his brother's obligation to rush out of the room as soon as an oration ended? No, but this night he was following after someone.

Sasuke'd seen Sakari leave first and then his brother, dark-eyed, ensue. The younger Uchiha doesn't know why Sakari had retreated so quickly but comprehends only that his brother was the first to notice and the first to act.

Thus, Sasuke practically chases to catch up. He sucks in his breath before yelling again, "Nii-san!"

He sees the black-dressed figure in front of him pause, but Sasuke approaches cautiously now. Itachi doesn't move, and Sasuke can't see his face.

"What do you want?" comes the soft, naturally-enticing voice.

Sasuke flinches by reflex and inaudibly clears his throat. "Uzumaki Naruto, the human." He glares when he doesn't get a reply. "Or did you forget about him?" he says caustically.

"I haven't," Itachi says, still without turning. "Kill him."

"What?" Sasuke glares, starting.

"He has a human heart," continues Itachi with unabashed bluntness. "He'll tell someone. Do you want an unnecessary dilemma?"

"You don't know that!" he seethes.

"No," he says. He twists to face him. Though their rugged features are similar, Itachi stands at least three inches taller, his face one etched of inhabited marble. "But do we have time to consider?"

Sasuke stares back at the brother he hasn't seen for years. He knows he's caught him at an urgent time, for he senses the anger that has been void in both their lives since childhood. And still, it's barely there and more like a cold washover. "If we have time to dawdle, then we'll have time later," he replies harshly.

"So you'd lock up a human until then?"

"Talk to him," Sasuke says, "if you're so wise."

"Far from it, so I won't."

"Since when were you so wary towards humans?" Sasuke hisses, stepping closer. "Since Sakari?"

It's as if his brother just begins to look at him, and Sasuke feels a sudden chill until Itachi looks past him. Ignoring the urge to stagger backward, Sasuke forces his mouth to open to continue.

But the smooth line of Itachi's lip curves at a slight, and his cold air lightens to reveal less-than-cynical amusement. "I'll talk to him," he says in his breath-like, velvet-stripped voice.

And in three elegant strides, the older Uchiha disappears from view, leaving in the same direction from which he was stopped.

* * *

"I would never!" Ino exclaims, lifting her arms as she doubles over laughing. Around her, stand Neji, Hinata and Temari--from the other coven--and a short boy called Hideki Tobi.

Even after the shocking words of the oration, the coven members find themselves lost in conversation and jokes. It's the same community it had always been, with the wary exceptions of strangers. And though most "groups" fail to assimilate, a couple succeed, "breaking the ice"--so to speak.

It's been more than two years since most of the Uchiha's coven have seen each other. Following the previous war that had costed so many souls and possibly the lives of their two leaders, Itachi had called a need to split the coven. If they scattered--temporarily--it would be impossible for outside forces to take the weakened coven. It was the smartest choice, and a breather. The time is acknowledged acutely by everyone, for what's a couple of decades compared to eternity?

But now they meet again, everyone.

Hinata laughs quietly beside Temari, who donnes a subtle if not charming smirk. Tobi grins, radiating a discordant giggle. Even Neji, across from Ino in their disheveled circle, allows the slip of a smile.

"So here's to our newcomers!" Ino raises a fake glass, motioning to Kisame and the rest.

"Actually, Ino," Temari, a smart-eyed blonde, says pointedly, "you're the newcomer. I've been here since their high school started."

"And they didn't question your age?" Ino remarks. "Or is this where you let yourself grow to be 'seventeen'?"

On account of their longevity, those of Ino's kind are able to manipulate their bodies' growth rates. It's the reason most of them appear the same young age. When they're infants, they grow naturally, for most aren't quite aware of their ability.

"Nah, plenty of weirdos blow into this town," Temari replies a matter-of-factedly. "It's the least abnormal if some girl comes in looking a year too old or something."

"Or too young," Neji nods to Hinata. The thin girl, appearing a little over fourteen, flushes profusely and looks away.

"Where is Itachi-sama?" Tobi says suddenly, peering about. "And Sasuke-kun?"

"Oh yeah, those two." Temari licks her dry lip, her cheeks coloring. "Hunks."

"Itachi-_sama_ left as soon as the redhead stopped talking," says Ino, giving Temari a meaningful look. "And Sasuke went to go plead to him."

"Scandelous," Neji says sardonically.

Tobi laughs loudly, initiating a quick glare from Ino. "_Actually_," she starts on a high note, "Sasuke has a human friend, who's got a little more info than he should. And now Sasuke's pleading for his life."

"You think that's gonna help?" Temari raises her brow. "If this Itachi's as damn good as he seems, he'd never let a _human_ get away with that. Especially at a time like this."

"Well, then it sounds like Uchiha Itachi's starting to go down!"

The five--and a couple of other indignant heads--turn sharply to face the speaker. They grit their teeth to see Naruto flouncing towards the group. Sasuke, beside him, mumbles something uncomfortably.

"You might not want to say that so loudly," Sasuke elbows Naruto in the ribs, a little too strongly. He eyes the distrustful room of vampires--all loyal to his brother, making sure to caution around his friend.

And Naruto still doesn't know _how_ we maintain living, Sasuke reminds himself sharply, consciously stepping closer to the blonde. If there were some hungry maniac in the room, Naruto would be meat by now.

I leave the telling to you, brother, he thinks as he approaches the group.

Tobi bounces up to him.

"No way!" Ino fails to hide her shock. "There's no way Itachi would let _that_ chatterbox live!"

"Itachi-_sama_," Temari smirks.

"Why not?" Neji says to Ino huskily. "It wouldn't be the first time."

Ino's face colors heatedly and for the first time she raises her voice to the white-eyed boy. "Well, that's love! It's not like he loves Naru--"

"Love?" Temari's face lights with interest. She dips her head closer as if to hear better. "Tell me about this love of his."

"It's none of your business," Ino shoots.

"Neither is it your's," Sasuke grumbles.

"What's this about your brother?" Naruto squints, stepping nearer as well. "Man, I never even saw him!"

Ino mutters, "Unfortunately for you."

Sasuke sees Neji fall out abruptly to sit on a nearby couch. Apparently, Hinata sees too, for she opens her mouth to protest, but Sasuke taps her firmly on the shoulder. Bending down slightly, he whispers by her ear, "Watch Naruto for me, okay?"

Clearly understanding, the girl nods twice before turning back to the conversation.

Backing out, Sasuke approaches his once best friend. "Too cool for talking?" he asks Neji, nodding backwards.

"I should say the same about you," replies Neji unenthusiastically.

Gaze weaving through, Sasuke motions to the conversing crowd. "How long do you think this'll last?"

"I can't say," Neji murmurs. "That's another thing my eyes can't see."

Seeing the subject turn, Sasuke asks briefly, "So your eyes can't sense our aura's either?"

"I hate this town," the subdued boy seethes. "All my life, I've been so accustomed to living with the Hyuga's ability to see aura. Being here is like being blind."

Sasuke says nothing; he doesn't know what to say. So the two fall into a gauche silence, until--

"Do you think there will be war?" Neji asks hesitantly.

Sasuke pauses. He remembers acutely the last war and the untimely loss of Neji's father. "It all depends on what the 'enemy' wants, doesn't it?" he answers quietly.

Considering, Neji nods. "It all depends."

Beneath nature's night blanket, a crack of light tied to the ajar shape of a hidden doorframe widens as the corresponding door creaks open. Emerging from the fluttering shadows of the forest, a figure dances inside, silencing all behind it. The light dies as the door slams shut.

The lithe figure slithers inside under a moonlit window, the dead hair from their scalp blanching. It sways anxiously in the dingy cellar, peering at every angle and wall and corner. Its translucent fingers brush over dusty barrels wrapped in the center of the room.

Reeling melodramatically, it hobbles onto the pile, staring keenly at the ceiling as if it can see through. It hisses in excitement, its fists tightening and clamping dust from the barrels.

The phantom arches, and the meat of their hands grazes the rough panels of the ceiling. One panel gives, lifting. The figure gives a low cackle, shoving it noiselessly to the side.

It hobbles upward but pauses as a wiry spider hobbles close to its hand.

Its temples crinkling, the phantom's hand snatches at the creature's long legs. The figure's fist closes over the bug and contract open to reveal black innards and just a splotch of red.

Shivering, the figure slides their tongue over the damp mess before launching itself through the ceiling.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. (Otherwise, it'd have ended by now...)

* * *

Itachi sifts inside the unlit bedroom, the shadows his tail. The room is shaded conspiring blues and blacks, and he blends in like words on a page. His steps are unnaturally light, a specter-like trait apparent.

He watches the still antique bed at his side and then gaits to the open balcony doors. Cool wind, swirled about beams of moonlight, surges towards him, through him. As he steps onto the stone balcony, the trees far beneath rustle in homage, the dark grasses bowing and hissing anxiously. The blue of night descends, illuminated by faint window lights through the house and, of course, Lady Moon.

Taking a silent breath, his gaze saunters to the waning orb whispering from the distance of the sky. He lets its light fall on him, reflect from his tight and milky skin. Rebelling from long sun basks, his color retains a warm, yet pale, tone. Wind whispers temptations in his ears.

His dark eyes are soft now, off-guard for a moment's indulgence. His broad shoulders loosen, but his sights are still fixed on the moon. He seeks it like a reassurance.

His hand slips into a marred jean pocket, under the torn edge of a black shirt. It's an habitual position of his, noticed by many. His handsome, untouchable face is set to an assertive concentration, one known to undo even the most composed demeanors with desires and gasps. However, his cold, "touch-me-not" factor is void and left is a mute, delicately beautiful scion of the moon.

He sighs, letting hair past his ears, giving them up to the mischievous antics of wind. Turning abruptly, he stalks back inside his dim room, the one he'd slept in unsaid years ago, his childhood. His feathery steps pause at the bedside; he bends slightly, deft hands slipping to a resting figure among the sheets.

"Can't sleep?" he asks softly, his fingers brushing their face. "Sakari?"

Sakari's head turns involuntarily, Itachi's touch lending unwanted chills. "Not for days," she replies glumly.

"I've heard," he murmurs. Continuing, he sits. "Surprisingly from Kakashi."

"Well, Iruka hasn't been here to worry over me." Resting her elbow on the comforter, she pulls herself up, facing him. "Long," she adds.

"Even us '_vampires_'," Itachi says the human term almost mockingly, "need rest, once a while. Sleep is blessed upon all creatures, even those as wretched as us." He finishes caustically, the meaning of his words lost in the velvet of his tone.

"Is that why our dreams last so long?" Sakari asks derisively. Her hand grips the white sheets out of boredum. "Dreams stretching onto days, and all the while we aren't allowed to interrupt them by waking."

For those with the born--or forcibly born--lust for drinking blood are daunted with the duty to dream. Some dreams do stretch pleasantly, but there's never insurance that all can be so fortunate. These dreams can last days in the living world--no doubt they seem even longer in the dreamt world--and continue until whatever purpose in spawning them is complete. Dreams can be trivial. Dreams can be premonitions. Further, the dreamer was never allowed to waken until the dream's end.

"Are they to blight even our 'blessings'?" Sakari says quietly.

After a pause to consider, Itachi replies shortly, "Dreams are rare, anyhow, my love." Unconsciously moving closer, he regards her with amusement. "After all, are not all our blesses and curses wound in one string?"

Sakari almost, but not quite, laughs. "Answers the perverse mind of one entranced with all of our '_abilities_'."

Smiling thinly, he once again brushes his hand to her cheek. She looks back at him silently, this time warming to the touch. Her expression, however, is unreadable to all.

To all but him.

"It look's like you've been doing more than negotiating," she muses, speaking before he can get in a word of inquiry. Her hand moves to the white scar across his cheek; the soft of her finger touches it with the lightness of a feather. "A scar from rhyzite."

Knowing full well her intentions, he plays along. He even comes close to preferring to. Itachi shuts his eyes at the intimate touch, and he unwinds to be the youth that appears so naturally from his exterior but rarely showed in his actions. "Yes, we did participate in fights--"

"'We' meaning Hoshigaki?" she mumbles irritably.

He smirks, idly remembering her negative feelings towards the gregarious nature of his acquaintance. "And others. Fortunately--or unfortunately, if you might think--for us, we encountered several of those we might soon be at war with. It's how we've gained information of them."

She finishes for him, "And how they've gain information of us." Her gaze his far away now, and she replaces her hand to her side.

Itachi's expression grows stern. In his soft and iced voice, he utters, "And your wound--"

"Nothing but a scar now," she interrupts with a shrug.

He seems close to replying, but Itachi freezes. He hears the faraway sound of scuffling, an unnatural and animalistic movement several corridors down.

"Do you hear it?" he whispers, his voice blending with the murmurs of the wind.

Sakari shuts her eyes apprehensively and then opens them immediately after. "The cellar," she says quickly.

"It's moving." The both are soon at their feet, but Sakari stops Itachi urgently.

Her gaze strays to the door. "Outside," she says oddly.

Itachi looks back at her dubiously but listens anyhow. The two swiftly step onto the balcony and look down, stunned to see a pair of grinning, red-rimmed eyes.

* * *

Sasuke creeps into the dim hallway. Small, identical lamps--barely lit--line the beige walls, each about eight feet apart. So with some credit to the lamps', Sasuke can see perfectly through the night-filled hall. His advanced vision outdoes the advantages of even the lights.

Sasuke raises the dirty cuffs of his jeans, making sure that they won't drag and produce noise. He stalks quietly across the marble floor, intending to veer to the left, to the stairs. He chooses not to breathe and proceeds as quietly as possible, practically walking on his heels.

Moving swiftly and reaching the corridor's end, Sasuke pauses to listen.

Just moments ago, he'd heard the most unnerving sound of movement, like a beast caught between traipsing and lumbering. He was in his room, brooding over both the grim tone of his brother's voice and the tension balanced over Neji's curved brows. At the same time, he'd been contemplating his own situation--the _hunger_ issue--the one he'd failed to mention to his brother, save anyone.

He'd been pacing circles around his bed, occasionally stopping to watch the swift rise of the moon. Many of his coven and almost all of the other had left an hour before, deciding to catch up at a less disconcerting hour. The remainder had been welcome to board in some of the unending halls of spare rooms.

Then the noise had started, like a subtle whisper in Sasuke's ear. He could focus on no other sound and, with rising goosebumps, he'd grabbed his longsword of rhyzite--his birthright--and slipped from his bedroom. There was an intruder in the mansion.

If Sasuke had detected noise, then most definitely--he thought this sardonically--his brother had as well. He'd even listened for noise from the far corridor of Itachi's chambers, but the sound within them had been moving _away_ from the intruder's location. Pondering this briefly, Sasuke had let the matter go, immediately fixating on the task at hand.

Sasuke flinches.

The sound--an eerie scuffle--errupts in his ear again, and the hazy image of being swallowed by unseen jaws produces itselfs in his mind. He heads left silently, inaudibly gulping; this corridor is dark, with no lamps. Unconsciously, his skilled grip on his sword tightens.

Suddenly, he hears the close pad of footsteps. Recognizing them to be of a more civil pace, Sasuke relaxes a little but nonetheless raises his weapon formidably. He waits for the attack, his knees bending slightly and his eyes flashing animalistically. From the short distance he can see a flash of yellow, and he heightens his sword, starting a full, strong swing when--

"Stop it!" a familiar voice hisses.

Freezing, Sasuke twists backwards, squinting slightly to see in the darkness. He lowers his sword but frowns. "Neji," he whispers.

Stepping close enough to be sure, Sasuke nods, confirming the identity of at least one of the shadows. He starts quietly, "Then who--"

The "yellow flash" appears before him, and Ino narrows her brows behind her blonde hair. "Ino," she mumbles, "who else?"

"And Kabuto," an amused voice says from behind her. And, indeed, a light-haired figure strides from behind Ino, sporting no glasses but a familiar face.

"I guess you all heard the noise, too," Sasuke whispers, tucking his sword at his side.

Kabuto--though Sasuke can barely see this--shakes his head. "No, Uchiha, not at first. I heard the sounds of fighting outside the back of the mansion--"

"My brother," Sasuke states quietly, unnerved.

Licking his dry lips, Kabuto nods. "And when I ventured closer to that area I began to hear the noise from the cellar."

"I heard the noise from the cellar first," Ino says quietly. "I was heading there--I brought my kunai--when I bumped into Neji. He almost chopped my neck, much worse than you, Sasuke." She gives Neji a reproachful glance. "Damn it, Neji, being a tightwad doesn't win fights."

"Neither does being pushover," Neji muses. Sasuke hears him cross his arms. "But it doesn't matter. We have to get to the cellar, or wherever the intruder's ended up by now. He could be breathing at our neck's right now, by the immense racket we've been making."

Ino cringes, cagily turning around. "Don't say those kinds of things, Neji," she murmurs shakily.

Sasuke stiffens, his ears suddenly pounding. "It's coming," he says, almost inaudibly, "from the stairs."

Kabuto, too, stands straight, watching the dark haze in front of them. "Well, we can't fight it here," he snaps. "The hallway's too narrow."

The four immediately fall back, running--no, sprinting to the nearest main room. Sasuke can hear the scuffling turn into a hobbling dash and a high-pitched growl that overturns his stomach. His heart's false beat reverberating in his ears, Sasuke quickens his pace; his companions--and their attacker, he notes warily--follow suite.

Due to the narrow hall, the four run single file, Sasuke at the front and Kabuto hairs behind him. Sasuke notices Ino, behind him, slip on a worn rug, faltering in her steps. Neji grabs her swiftly and, reflexively shoving her ahead of him, falls to the rear.

Hearing their follower's high growl again, Sasuke shivers. Cold sweat runs from his temples, and he can almost feel the distance from them and their attacker shorten.

Apparently, he isn't the only one.

Neji stops short. Sasuke, mortified, stops as well, Kabuto nearly tumbling into him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sasuke barks. "We have to move!"

"Go on ahead to the main room," Neji says quickly, taking a pair of duel swords--with rhyzite blades--from his belt. "It'll be a sad fight if that _thing_ overtakes us while we're running single-file. I'll distract it until you all get there. Now, go!"

With neither a nod of confirmation nor understanding, Sasuke starts running again. Kabuto ensues, dragging a protesting Ino behind him. As they continue hotly, Sasuke can faintly hear the sound of slashing and the outraged yells of fighting. Swallowing, he goes even faster.

So when the wide main room comes into site, Sasuke nearly collapses in relief. Ino and Kabuto stumble behind him, panting from the rush of their flight.

But Sasuke wastes no time. Examining the closely-arranged furniture, he purses his lip, runnning to spread them to the back of the room. Kabuto guards the door thin-lippedly; he draws a lance-like weapon that's been strapped to his side. It's tip glows a diluted, heated red. Ino, stepping behind Kabuto, spins several kunai from her shirt pocket, flicking them about her wrist skillfully. She fiddles with them nervously.

"Sasuke, they're coming," she says quietly, her low tone hiding her trembles.

"That thing's outnumbered," Kabuto scoffs, but he yields tensely. "And yet--"

Sasuke raises his sword to his face, wondering vaguely the becomings of his brother. He watches his reflection, refracted by the leveled split on the red-glown sword. His face is haggard and worn, set grimly. He realizes then how closely he's come to resemble his late father. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke moves the blade to an attacking position.

At that moment, Neji bursts into the room, a chunk of debris from the wall following him. Dust rises in the room, and Sasuke and Ino are forced to retreat backward from coughing. Sasuke opens his eyes at a crack and sees Neji rise unsteadily. Cracked blood cleaves to his cheek where what appears to be a claw mark streaks to his chin. Similar marks are manifested at his arms and chest, and Sasuke forces himself to face the creature entering.

A feathery chill inches up Sasuke's spine as the misty dust finally settles. Two shadows merge at the doorway. One of them is Kabuto, keen on his attack; his lance gleams arcanely.

The other is a translucent-skinned figure, thin and straight. It looks like an ordinary man, and yet, it doesn't. Its eyes slant inward, narrow, yellow diamonds emerging from a powdery white face. They grin a malevolent grin, an unrestrained curve of lips, impossibly bright, too bright. It's as if its lips had been sewn that way. Sasuke hears Ino scream in alarm, and she releases three knives in the phantom's direction.

Kabuto has to step back to avoiding getting hit, but the figure doesn't move. Ino's knives gorge directly into the creature's taut chest, the rhyzite at their tips drawing immediate blood.

The creature doesn't react, as if drugged in its own perverse thrill. In fact, Sasuke can identify similar wounds winding up its slender figure, made by Neji and Kabuto. The phantom's cheek bones extend alarmingly accurately from its sleek face as its grin impresses farther into the frame of its face. Sasuke can see frozen veins beneath the frail excuse for skin.

The phantom-like man is dressed all in white, resembling a cherub in its own twisted way. Its shirt is torn wide open by cuts; the frayed edges are laced with both dried and fresh blood. Shoving past Kabuto, it floats forward, gliding straight towards Sasuke.

Alarmed at the sudden motion, Sasuke finds himself backing away, but the man doesn't attack. Instead they place a scratched hand upon their soaked chest and bows low before him. "I am Orochimaru," he says in a scathing voice. Raising his face, he continues to advance. His impossible grin soaks into his yellow eyes. His lithe hand seizes Sasuke's shoulder, and his face presses close, a short breadth away. Sasuke swallows, involunatarily quivering as Orochimaru's rosey breath caresses his cheek. "Uchiha Sasuke," he hisses playfully. He lets the name roll of his tongue and his features quirk, as if relishing its taste. "I have come to take you."

* * *

**Note:**

What I regret most is the fact that Orochis description is so obvious--and so is his character. This story was actually never meant to be a fanfiction, but since I'm so bad at embodying my own characters, I had to cast some Naruto ones. Heheh...

So stay tuned! (Reviews would be welcome) Thank you for reading! x3


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. (Otherwise I'd be hella rich x3)

* * *

Sasuke stares back at the phantom before him. His chalky lips are set in a composed line, but his eyes quiver with palpable terror. His sword arm hangs stiff at his side, his legs close to slumping.

Orochimaru leers at this, his manic grin spreading like flames. "Then I suppose you'll be--so to say--'coming quietly'."

"Not if I have something to say about it!" Ino yells from behind them. She flicks a long kunai between her finger and charges.

It's then, finally, that Sasuke reacts. He twists from his opponent's spidery hands and, bending back, manages to kick forward.

With a bored look, Orochimaru evades the feeble attempt and reaches a skeletal hand as Sasuke takes a moment to recover. However, forgetting Ino behind him, he's met by a sharp blow in the shoulder. Manifesting the look of a disrupted child, Orochimaru sneers back at Ino and jumps incredibly high in the air. Swiftly, he chops the aged chain of one of the lit chandelier. The cut light crashes to the ground, threatening to hit the four beneath him. Beside the antique, Orochimaru floats to the ground.

As the chandelier falls, the four clansmen haste backwards as the room's only light dies violently. They each shut their eyes to avoid being blinded by the glass, and the shards that do reach their skin bounce off with no trace.

Giving to the madness of the 'kill', Orochimaru twists around and around to face his opponents.

Neji and Kabuto, on either side of their enemy, charge at the same time. Kabuto spins his lance so the pointed end faces Orochimaru. The rhyzite tip glints maliciously.

Neji reaches Orochimaru first, his duel swords whistling rapidly. Orochimaru feints backward, overturning a table, and, when Neji continues to approach, attacks with such barbaric forwardness that he--Neji--hesitates. But being acquainted with fighting this foe, he attacks unswervingly, his swords singing a battle cry.

Orochimaru grits his teeth, forced to retreat from the matched ferocity, but not before receiving a long cut across his already mutilated shirt. His recoil is so quick, though, that he draws only a little blood.

When Orochimaru falls backward again, Kabuto attacks. His lance lands square in his foe's back. But Kabuto pauses, hearing in wonder Orochimaru's maniac laughter. It starts from a discordant note and crescendoes upon a perverse arpeggio.

Sasuke clenches his teeth, but the harsh sound seems to rattle sharp vibrations through his mouth.

Orochimaru grabs Kabuto's lance but instead of removing it, he sinks it deeper into his flesh. Blood trickling from his back, he pulls. Kabuto, too astounded to let go, finds himself being drawn forward. His heels dig earnestly into the frayed carpet, but he slips, falling forward. He lets go of the lance only to find hot arms completely surrounding him. His eyes widen but before he can move, razor teeth sink into his neck.

Kabuto screams as venom seeps into his bloodflow at an alarming rate. He feels numb and warm but the sensation soon passes. After all, he's already a vampire. However, a new feeling starts all together. Usually, if one of his kind bit him, he'd feel a shock but then the venom would quickly absorb into his bloodflow. Now, it's as his blood's turning to oil, fire licking readily at every conversion. Quicker than soon, Kabuto's entire body tingles in stifling pain, and he screams again.

Sasuke steps in then. Dragging forth his sword, he plunges it into Orochimaru's back, retracting it as soon as Orochimaru releases his clansman. He sees Kabuto collapse, moaning. His fingers twitch on the carpet floor.

Orochimaru twists to face Sasuke, his grin returning. "Well, Sasuke. Have you come back for more?"

"Fuck, you wish," Sasuke spits, raising his sword again.

Orochimaru leans back, chortling with his shrieking laughter. Lifting his hands, he sees Sasuke begin to parry. Orochimaru shakes his head, as if chiding a child. Instead of attacking, Orochimaru grabs the bloody lance, still stuck firm in his back.

Stuck in the gory sight, all the others can do is watch.

With a twistedly calm demeanor, Orochimaru pulls the weapon's long shaft from his back. It gives, producing a wet sucking sound as the weapon comes out. Blood rains from the lance's pointed shaft, and Orochimaru continues to laughs, specks of blood flying from his throat even as he grins.

Sasuke recoils unwillingly, sickened. The figure before is barely shaken, impervious to the vicious wounds streaking its blood-matted chest. He hears Ino behind him collapse and hurl. Indeed, Sasuke's stomach is flipping butterflies as well.

But with a nod to Neji at his rough left, Sasuke takes a cool breath and rushes forward once more.

* * *

"So this is what it's like to fight a prince," an eager voice howls, panting. The speaker dashes forward raising a wood-hilted sword. "And soon I'll know what it means to kill one!"

Itachi evades the heated attack with a mere shrug of his shoulder. Sweat sheens from his forehead, but his only cut is a slight slash over his black shirt.

His attacker swings, turning on its heel to charge at Itachi's back. Itachi starts to dodge again, but instead the attacker hops over him with such speed that the prince can barely catch the afterimage. His foe slashes at his chest with his blade.

However the last possible moment, Itachi raises his own sword, holding the hilt in one end and flat of the red blade's zenith in the other. He keeps a firm hold as the attacker continues to slash; sparks flash as the two blades at each other, dissipating in the dirt. With each of his foe's unslowing strikes, Itachi's heels dig farther into the ground, and he's forced an inch back.

With a quick breath, Itachi's grasp on the head of his blade tightens. Ignoring the new small cuts at his palm and fingers, Itachi spins the entire blade so swiftly that the only trace of the weapon is an arcing circle of red.

The impact sends the foe's sword meters backwards with an unsettling shriek. However the attacker himself doesn't stop his pursuit. With an animalistic yelp, they leap into the wide whir of Itachi's sword. They emerge directly before their target, but not unscathed.

Wearing the same expressionless face, Itachi ducks backward, setting the enemy off-balance. He takes that moment of opportunity to knock the wind from his opponent and throws them to the dirt.

Dropping his glimmering sword, Itachi twists backwards the foe's wrists with God-worthy strength. With his other arm, he elbows their back into the ground. He shakes his head back to knock his black bangs from his face, where pale moonlight illuminates. His sword, as well, seems to glow in the night. A lovely weapon, the hilt carves thorns and arcs of pure silver. It's the sort of beauty a father would hand to a son. The blade is long, honing the metallic crimson of rhyzite. The color reflects in his eyes.

"Sakari," he calls softly to the side, "this is one of them?"

From the back wall of the mansion, the girl watches the steady fight. "Yes," she says, "he called himself Kakuzu."

"As I s-said when I first attacked," Kakuzu seethes, wriggling like a worm in sheer panic. His tone quivers with an eager spasm.

The frame of Kakuzu's gray eyes is colored a haunted red, and he seizes jerkily. His mouth, now stuck in the ground, foams with the built up tension.

"Her word above yours," Itachi replies simply, though he shoves Kakuzu deeper into the dirt.

"When we fought, though," Sakari continues, still not standing, "he wasn't yet a rogue."

Kakuzu physically trembles now, instinct aroused by her last word.

Staring down at his opponent with his lightless eyes, Itachi tightens his grip. "Did Kimimaro send you?" he asks icily.

Kakuzu, now too far gone, simply struggles harder, howling incoherently.

With a dismissive shake of his head, Itachi asks again, his soft voice mingling with the windless air, "For what purpose were you sent?"

Then, with an eerie screech, Kakuzu springs upward, forcing Itachi to remove his grasp.

Kakuzu charges Itachi, swordless, with a demonic speed. He reaches out with his very nails, the red marks of Itachi's fingers still evident on his wrists.

Expecting this, and regarding his foe with acute disgust, Itachi grasps his sword and, in a swift arc, slashes off the head of his attacker. Wasting no time, he thrusts the beautiful weapon again into the corpse's falling chest and then retracts. He turns away. But behind him, Sakari stiffens, watching intently.

The headless corpse drops to the dirt but, almost on impact, begins to fade. The body seems to dematerialize into wind and, taking both the head and spilt blood, disappears.

"He isn't dead," Sakari murmurs, both astoundedly and defeatedly. She thinks faintly of Kimimaro's words and then of her own meek reply to them.

Itachi gazes upon her, his expression darkening with unhidden suspicion and concern. "Of course," he says carefully, studying her. "We can't."

She doesn't look at him but soon feels the cool touch of his hand on her shoulder. His other hand grazes her cheek, gently turning it to face him. The suspicion has eroded from his eyes, but he stares back with sudden compassion.

They both open their lips to speak but are interrupted by a sudden, horrifying shriek. Without so much as a regard to each other, the two dash towards the back entrance, racing to the source of the sound.

* * *

"Sasuke!" Ino screams. She watches Orochimaru approach the now lone Sasuke at the center of the torn room. Ino gropes at the rough walls of the room, struggling to stand. She has only two more useable knives, the rest lay scattered in the dim, undaunted corners of the room. Neji had inadvertently slugged two more chandeliers from the ceiling, so the room's only light source is now a small lamp, overturned at the diagonal wall.

Ino sinks to her knees as her legs disobey her desperate plea to stand. She clenches her weapons her cut hands. Bloody nail marks adorn her arms and her cheek, and she can feel bruises forming along the edges of her abdomen.

How does one get so much power? Ino moans softly as she drives her kunai deeply into the wall, making handholds to stand. She staggers to her feet.

She can't smell the scent of a rogue on this demon, and yet he fights like an animal, shameless and unwavering. She half expects Orochimaru to drop dead any moment, judging simply by the harsh scars running up the phantom's lithe chest.

Ino limps across the wall, clutching the wall with her two kunai. She's torn between going to Neji--who'd doubled over moments ago from an attack at his ribcage, Kabuto--dazed and only half conscious from Orochimaru's monstrous bite, or Sasuke--the only one left standing.

True, Orochimaru had advertently refrained from wounding the young Uchiha, and the thought both relieved and unsettled the young girl. Ino stumbles, reaching almost mindlessly Neji on the floor. She collapses beside him.

"Neji, can you move?" Ino murmurs, her voice hoarse.

"Nng--" he coughs blood, burying his face in the damp carpet. "Wh-Where--" he can barely choke a whisper.

"Never mind," Ino says, touching his fevered forehead. "Don't talk." Her eyes stray to Kabuto, who'd been kicked to the far side of the room, and she knows that his condition could be even worse.

"Sasuke," she says under breath, watching the one-sided battle in the middle. "Sasuke."

* * *

Sasuke shrugs his numb shoulder, twirling his left wrist spasmically.

He had just been close to nailing another stab at Orochimaru's chest, when the beast's teeth had sunk into his right swordarm. Ever since, a cold feeling had begun to spread across his body, aching like fire.

Sasuke rushedly moves his left arm and legs, hoping to momentarily prevent the venom from reaching them. He'd let go of his longsword at Orochimaru's last attack. He can't fight with an immobile arm, and he knows fighting with his left would be like suicide.

Sasuke backs another step as Orochimaru approaches. Blood pulses at his temples, reverberating in his head so he can barely hear. But he can make out the soft hisses as words leave his opponent's thin mouth. He feels a little queasy again from staring at the figure for so long.

"...with me so long as you behave..." Sasuke caught. Involuntarily putting a hand to his head, Sasuke steadies himself, noticing suddenly that he'd been nodding off even as he stood.

Orochimaru grasps his shoulders in a death-like grip, and Sasuke can't even protest. Groaning at being bothered, the young Uchiha staggers backward but finds himself caught up in those cold hands.

Sasuke's eyes flutter open and closed. He'd barely been injured besides for the sudden bite. Why was he so tired...

He can hear a little better from this angle, he notices vaguely. "Finally cooperating, I see," Orochimaru says, but Sasuke barely pays attention.

Lights block his vision though, and he gives an irresistable laugh when they hazily begin to spin. He leans back further, intending suddenly to just sleep.

Why not? The battle was lost. Sasuke shuts his eyes, letting out a sigh when the simple action brings him such relaxation and pleasure--

"Sasuke!"

Naruto! Sasuke flicks his head backward, rudely awakened. Had that just been Naruto? Just like back in the woods, the other week. He'd really come out of no where, so was he doing it again? Funny how the blonde could do that--

"Sasuke!" Sasuke starts, opening his eyes this time. The voice was not Naruto, and he blinks finding himself staring at two squinted, snake-like eyes.

Orochimaru! And the voice is...

"Ino!" Sasuke exclaims, standing up right, finally. Orochimaru snarls at the sudden physical protest, but he continues to smile. After all, how could Sasuke escape?

Sasuke stumbles slightly, wondering the question himself, only less rhetorically. But when he sees the blooded hands of his enemy he knows what to do. It was his last resort, more of an instinctive impulse than a technique.

Using the final ounce of his strength, Sasuke jolts forward with such force that even Orochimaru is stunned. Blood still pounding in his ears, the raven-haired Uchiha pounces on his taller foe and blindly thrusts forward his fingers.

But the messy aim hits home, and Orochimaru screams--an echoing shriek--as his right eye is gauged, diminished into a blooded heap.

In an outrage, Orochimaru grasps a gleaming needle from his pants pocket, _his_ last resort. The needle's tip glows manevolently, liquid poison slipping from the point, and he unceremoniously shoves it into Sasuke's neck.

The poison reacts immediately, and Sasuke's eyes widen right before his site is snuffed into darkness.

* * *

Ino opens her eyes, realizing then that she'd had them closed. She sees their phantom attacker screaming, stumbling blindly in the dim room, but that soon becomes a blur.

She wonders wearily, if not earnestly, what had happened.

But she sucks in a breath of sheer relief when she sees their foe leap from the far window, hastily escaping into the night.

How cliché, Ino notes, but her comic thought soon fades when she looks back to the center of the room. Her throat constricts, and she lets out a choked yell.

On the blood-matted carpet, Sasuke lies still, stiff as a corpse.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. Neither do I think I would enjoy doing so...

* * *

Naruto stumbles warily through the dim corridors of the mansion, his throat dry and his eyes trembling. Swallowing slowly, his grip tightens on the rotting umbrella in his hands. His gaze follows the shadows of the antique-looking hallways, tracing every fault in the walls and each slick cobweb that happens to glint in the lamps' light. If Sasuke thought he would keep living like this, Naruto decides, he had another thing coming.

Thinking he hears something, Naruto pounces in the air, drawing forth the soggy umbrella like a weapon. But it's nothing.

_Probably a damn spider_, he thinks to himself.

Naruto continues on his way, alone, through the hall that seems to be growing. Maybe he was shrinking. Refusing to cower, he lumbers forward, the sound of his steps exploding in his ears. He winces.

Naruto had grabbed the dank umbrella from the corner of his small guest room. He'd heard a scream, a sound that reminded him firmly of a sexually tense banshee--

He snickers to himself. _God, I'm funny_.

Anyhow, Naruto had grabbed the first lethal-looking weapon he could get his hands on and left his oh-so-warm-and-comfy room to investigate. He barely knew where he was going, but he figured he would run into kind Hinata or at least Sasuke.

Naruto snorts. _For all I know this is probably one of that bastard's sleeping rituals_.

Even so, with every skittish turn in the halls, Naruto wrings his hands, practically praying to see his rude-looking friend.

These people weren't people to laugh about, Naruto had decided thus far. Something about them being radio-active creeps who couldn't die. The blonde had illustrated many versions of the story in his mind, and he harbors a guilty excitement of hearing the actual account.

But another part of him--a rather boring part--was terrified to hear it, to even talk to this so-called Uchiha Itachi.

Before he'd heard the shriek, Naruto had been living that horrible day in the woods again, in a dream. Though this time, no one was on his side. There was a circle of people--strangers, friends--surrounding him, trapping him. He found himself cold, terrified and was soon screaming--for no apparent reason--for his friend, Sasuke.

And the boy had appeared from the thick crowd around him, had stepped before him with a grin worthy of a Cheshire. His coal eyes had been red-rimmed, and his feral teeth had wept blood. Naruto can see again his friend's milky white hands stained red, their nails shooting malevolent inches from what they should be. Sasuke had lifted a sharp finger and slashed.

Thankfully, Naruto had woken to the shriek.

_Here comes another corner_. Hairs prick at the back of the blonde's neck, and he raises his dank weapon out of caution. There is someone coming towards him.

Naruto's chest pulses as the shadow draws nearer. Their steps are inaudible, but he can see the shadow widening under the hallway's meek lights. He hastens forward and in the pool of their shadow, he can see their feet, an adult's feet. Not Hinata, not Sasuke.

Gulping, Naruto looks up to meet their face.

* * *

"He's in no danger," Itachi says blandly, straightening beside his comatose brother. The older Uchiha looks down at Sasuke with eyes unreadable. His gaze is drawn in flitting shadows strung to the flickering light of the dying lamp. "For the moment."

As soon as Itachi and his bride had arrived at the bloody scene, the whole mansion seemed to awaken. Servants had appeared at his back, their backs bent and their eyes filled with shallow fear. Sasori, Kisame, Temari, and Hinata had come after them, the last shivering in palpable horror.

Ino frowns from her cross-legged seat before Sasuke and exchanges a glance with Kabuto. "But he's--"

"He's rigid, with the look of death," Neji coughs beside her. He runs a blanche hand over the firm bandage stuck fast to his damp wounds. "A child could diagnose that."

"Yeah," Temari says, thin-lipped, "how isn't he in danger?"

Most raise their gazes to Itachi, expectance in some eyes and hidden traces of doubt in others. Hinata looks down at her shaking hands, her cheeks flushed. Sakari focuses on the half-conscious Kabuto lying at her knees, who--with eyes still on his master--chokes down a bitter-smelling antidote in Sakari's hands.

Sasori watches Itachi with undisguised scrutiny and care, fervent to catch every word of so-proclaimed reason.

"The plain-sighted reason is that his pallor has stayed constant for nearly five minutes now, and his condition has ceased to change," Itachi's voice is soft and yet strong, a subtle reminder of his power. "Either he remains dormant and his soul will be obliterated at a sudden hour, or he will stay this way until changed by outside forces."

"'Outside f-forces', my master?" Kabuto croaks, liquid dribbling from his white lips.

"Yes."

Sasori clears his throat. "Who isn't to say he's died?" he asks testily. Kisame raises a brow at the direct questioning but smiles to himself instead of commenting.

"His heart beats at the pace expected of our kind," Sakari says quietly, without looking.

"_Our_ kind," Sasori murmurs, more to himself than otherwise.

"The second reason," Itachi's voice overrules Sasori's, "is that Orochimaru left my brother nearly unscathed with the exception of the needle's poison. As Yamanaka-san intimates, the needle was a last resort." He pauses.

"And so?" Temari questions hastily.

"Orochimaru never intended to hurt Sasuke," Itachi continues. "From what I know of him already, he acts more smartly than attacking just to damage. He had a purpose in trying to drive out Sasuke, in distracting me with a rogue. He focused first on eliminating those around him, and fought the young prince with care. As he outright announced, he planned to kidnap my brother, unharmed being a guideline."

"My lord is talking in circles," Neji says, lowering his face.

"And what relevance does this have to the fact that the young prince 'isn't in danger'--" Sasori asks but then realizes, understanding changing his eyes like shapes in a kaleidoscope.

"You understand." Itachi strides towards the flickering light bulb and rights it with a deft turn of his hand. "Why should he change his colors for a wounded eye? Sasuke's fighting back would force Orochimaru to fight my brother seriously, and for that reason, he retreated, rendering Sasuke comatose--healthily comatose--with the flick of a hidden needle, kept safe if failure were to come."

"So we've won against him!" Ino's eyes brighten.

"Hardly," the older prince replies simply. "Undoubtedly, he and his given associates have an antidote to my brother's current state. Undoubtedly, they will offer it to us but at a price. The most obvious one would be to ask for hi--"

"Yo!"

Temari, Hinata, and Ino look up at the sudden newcomer. Neji glances at them and nods absently, but Itachi doesn't have to turn around. "Kakashi, what a pleasure it is to see you've arrived," Itachi says mildly.

"Came as soon as I was summoned," Kakashi smiles shame-facedly in the doorframe, rubbing the back of his head. He bows his head side-ways, seeing as only half of him is visible through the doorway, "My--er--King."

"Such formalities are unnecessary," Itachi cuts in, regarding him with a spark of amusement.

Kakashi nods thankfully. "Well, the complication was bringing Iruka. He seemed to have dozed off, and I suppose he was dreaming. So he wouldn't wake up and I--"

"Hey--mrph!" a scratchy voice seems to squirm.

Sasori quirks a brow as Kakashi steps fully into the room, holding a struggling blonde figure in a tight arm-lock. "Oh, and I found a naughty little refugee from his jail," Kakashi says in his odd tone.

"_Him_," Ino murmurs lowly.

Sasori utters, "The human."

"For Lady Moon's sake!" Iruka floats impatiently behind Kakashi. "Let him go, Kakashi, before he suffocates!"

"Sorry." Kakashi lets a blue-faced Naruto loose, and Naruto steps dizzily out of his makeshift jail.

When he steadies himself, Naruto studies the contents of the room and starts to exclaim when he sees Hinata but cuts himself off. He sees Sasuke's other friends, huddled together in dirty bandages and--he gasps--blood. Color draining from his face, Naruto hesitates backward but stops midstep when he sees the pale corpse at the center of the room.

"S-Sasuke," Naruto whispers, his eyes wide. "What h-happ--"

"Uzumaki Naruto," a new voice interrupts behind him.

Naruto starts, the voice like an enchantment. He turns, unable to protest against his own movement; his neck is like a rusty hinge. But his eyes widen at the sight before him that had at first, mingled in the shadows, escaped his eyes, and he lets out a soft breath that echoes, unheard, through his ears. "Wh-Who--" he tries to speak, but something lumps in his throat, possibly his heart.

And then he knows. After all, Sasuke had pointed him out once before, that night.

"I am Uchiha Itachi," they say in that same, arousing tone. "Sasuke's brother."

Shivering, Naruto can practically hear the words wisp off the speaker's tongue. _What slick precision_. Naruto's face colors at the thought.

"I-I--er--H-Hey--" Naruto has to force himself to duck away from those beautiful eyes. How couldn't he have seen this man clearly hours before? He is the epitome of masculinity, with a muscular build that shows past the fabric of his black shirt. His jaw line is so well pronounced, even as shadows dance on his face. Though unexpectly pale, he is so, so beautiful.

Naruto gulps. _What am I thinking?_ But the thought shoves itself away in moments, and he finds his mouth go dry, his jaw dropping.

He hears someone snort derisively in the background and drop a caustic comment, and only that can draw the blonde from his daze. Some things never change.

"Hey! Who just said that?" Naruto intends to howl, but his voice goes meek and tumbles helplessly. His face, now, is nothing but a splotch of red.

Itachi, however, takes no notice of this, or, at least if he does, he does nothing to show it. He watches Naruto directly with those smoldering eyes. "I made a promise to my brother that I'd explain many things to you, Naruto. Did you know?"

Unable to trust his own voice, the blonde nods quietly, mesmerized at the face before him.

But Itachi's gaze snatches away for a half moment, catching that of, Naruto realizes idly, someone behind. However, Naruto can't find it in himself to see who. His eyes are glued to the man before him. "I suppose," Itachi says lowly, "that I've delayed long enough." The Uchiha motions to a servant from the side, but this time his gaze doesn't move from Naruto's. At this, the blonde's face becomes as hot as the eyes watching him. "_Escort_ him to the room next door," Itachi commands. "Naruto, if you'd follow my servant."

Unaware of his being manipulated, Naruto nods, a dumb smile playing on his face. With one face turned backwards, Naruto stumbles out of the room.

"Hinata-san," Itachi addresses the girl suddenly.

Hinata flinches, lowering her face in a fluster. She fiddles with her fingers. "Yes, my King?"

"Seeing as your cousin is, at the moment, unable, would you leave the town quickly and check for Orochimaru's aura?" Itachi asks, his voice lighter as to not alarm the girl. "That is," he adds, "if your masters permitted it."

"Of course," Kisame snorts without a regard to Sasori.

Hinata nods her head feverishly. "I-I will go."

"I thank you," Itachi nods. "Sasori and Kisame, I trust you can plan something. But excuse me, for I'll be back shortly." He pauses, catching the gaze of one another in the room. Though his expression doesn't change, his eyes smile.

The notion, however, disappears as he leaves through the door.

Kisame grins, speaking loudly enough for his ally, his friend to hear, "Pretty and smart!"

* * *

**Announcements:** Hm, did that seem shorter than usual? It really feels like it. Well, I'm planning to update later this week--what a miracle--because I'll be leaving for a three-week, no internet sleepaway camp this Friday night. x3

My gosh, do I feel like I'm shipping Itachi-chan into a sex room. (One thing I'll give away is that THAT will **not** happen.) Anywho, sexy boy can take care of himself.

Lots of love,

**etherealxx**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. And for **very** good reason.

* * *

_Sing a seducer's song, my love_

_Entice stars to my side_

Sasuke opens his eyes to feel himself moving. Throat constricting, he looks down. The feeling of lowering is natural, soothing. His back sags forward a little, and he has to force himself to remain in control. His feet, bare, walk beneath him over nothing. Or, at least it appears as nothing. Chagrined, he turns his gaze about, groaning slightly as he straightens. The sound echoes.

_Arouse the Moon, my love_

_Request her scion_

Black. The world is black.

_Kiss away the stars now, my love_

_so it's just you and I?_

Eyes widening, Sasuke forces his heels to buckle backwards. His feet refuse to comply. His unused force sends him tumbling forward, unbalanced. But some invisible force grips his chest; he blinks, and he's standing straight again, walking. He grabs his breast where the invisible hands had just grabbed him; they burn cold, as if frosted. He voices a grimace, and it's then that he can hear further sound. He listens.

_Darkness, let her dress encircle you_

_Succumb._

Faint music whispers in his ears, caressing his skin and sending chilled sensations through his spine. Sasuke breathes hallowly, the sound echoing in an enticing song. He looks about, seeing nothing in the distance but a transparent black. The same darkness hazes before and behind him, above and below. Or was it darkness?

_My love, shower yourself in her kisses, her severe grasp_

_shut cause and reason, caress_

With no white, what was black? His eyes begin to tear. Maybe it was all light. All white, all black. _All_. Wasn't it all the same?

_Scream a lover's scream, love_

_sequins surround, you cry,_

And he starts to fall down. Sasuke yells in alarm, reaching above. Above or below? Was he falling up? Why not falling left? He looks around, grasping the air wildly. No, nothing mattered. He sees colors swirling beneath his feet, far beneath. Shaking his head, Sasuke shuts his eyes, brings his hands to his side and falls.

_my love?_

* * *

Naruto is acutely aware of the two servants huddled together in the corner. But he's too preoccupied to ponder the prospect of servants for his entranced gaze sticks fast to the beautiful man before him. Even his tired eyelids pause in their drooping.

Uchiha Itachi leans against the brown, wooden doorframe from which he'd just arrived bearing no expression at all. Naruto, across the room, can't even find the concentrated point of his gaze, the directed light in those dark, consuming eyes. The blonde sinks farther into his armchair, that seems to warm itself with an eerie, inner fire. Naruto struggles in the worn cushion.

"Is there anything in this world, Naruto, that astounds you?" Itachi asks suddenly, his eyes still not moving.

Feeling his stomach flip ecstatically, Naruto swallows and lowers his hot face. "Um--er--Yeah, I mean, you know," he mumbles, "vacuum-packed ramen. Shikamaru explained that to me a while ago, and it really amazed me, but, you know, I guess you don't know who Shikamaru is, but he's pretty--er--astounding himself considering he's the--"

"I see," cuts in Itachi. Naruto blushes, noticing then that he was rambling. Itachi continues with concealed care, "And why does it astound you?"

"Oh." Realizing then how stupid the prospect of instant noodles sounded, Naruto mutters low chides to himself before continuing. "I guess--um--because I never really--uh--I don't know. I never, er, th-thought about it," he says this all at lightning speed, shooting the words past the giant lump in his throat.

"And it being that you'd never thought about it made the idea," Itachi pauses, and it's then finally that he looks at Naruto. The blonde turns an extreme shade of red. Itachi reiterates, motioning for Naruto to complete the sentence. "It made the idea..."

"Unknown!" the blonde shoots the word like a spark as lifeline. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees one of the servants give him a reproving glance for the outburst.

"Precisely," replies Itachi. His eyes cool slightly, assuming an open, if not approachable, gaze. "It is the unattained knowledge that sparks the most longing, in humans," he concedes, "and creatures alike."

"Er--Yeah," Naruto coughs. He'd never really thought about it. Cheeks burning in shame, Naruto sinks further into the cushions. Feeling a bit more comfortable he squeaks, "Um." Keeping his eyes on Itachi, he senses no intention of interrupting. "Well, when you say '_creatures_' then do you mean what you and Hinata and S-Sasuke are?"

_Sasuke!_ Naruto remembers his friend's ghastly state, not quite grasping the moment he'd forgotten. He opens his mouth to ask more, but a reproachful voice from inside him cuts him off, _Shut up for once and listen!_ Piqued, Naruto complies.

Itachi is regarding him with slight amusement now, his eyes smiling. "I see my brother has informed you thus far."

"He said you were immortal," says Naruto in what he hopes is a bold tone.

"Ah, is that all he said?"

The question puts Naruto off balance. What else was there to say? Rustily, he nods.

Naruto sees Itachi's gaze darken, and he's vaguely aware of the servants behind him scuffling nervously. However, he pays scant attention to this and keeps his eyes fixed on the older Uchiha. He remembers with a sudden pang what Sasuke _had_ said about his brother. _"So someone has to come and pass judgement on you."_ Only then would he be allowed to leave, Naruto remembers. Sasuke had not mentioned the alternative.

_"You can't tell anyone about anything."_ Sure, I can keep a secret, Naruto thinks to himself. He suppresses a gulp.

_What kind of secret?_

Anxiously, Naruto looks at the now-frowning Itachi. Shoving away an impulsive inquiry of what his smile would look like, Naruto doesn't have to wonder if this man is capable of permanently silencing an annoying blonde runt. Beautiful, yes. Itachi is the most alluring person he's ever seen, but there is an even more alluring resolve in him. Entrancing as it was, Naruto has to wonder, would this resolve end up working in the blonde's favor?

Why hadn't he thought of any of this before? He feels cold chills of sweat form at his forehead, and he shakes his head, licking his lips before speaking. His own words echoe in his head now. _"Then who's this bastard I have to suck up to?"_ He feels acutely embaressed now, but his thoughts are suddenly interrupted.

"By the look on your face, I gather you've realized the world you've stumbled into," Itachi says, his gaze appearing unfocused yet again. His tone is grim.

Naruto swallows his thoughts in a rather painful gulp. For an unspoken reason, his face is too shamed to look up. "I-I want to know things."

_Well, that was resolute_.

But despite Naruto's fears, Itachi's face softens with amusement again. "'Things'?" he repeats, actually smiling now. "Very well, I'll enlighten you with '_things_'."

Naruto feels his mouth ajar in a dumb expression, but that inner voice in him forces him to shut up.

"I trust that you don't know how exactly we uphold our everlasting lives," Itachi says softly. He does not look at Naruto as he speaks, nor does he wait for a reply. "Our sustenance is blood."

"Y-You--" Naruto face is deathly pale, a color resembling that of Sasuke's limp body. "You're vampires!"

"Such a vile term. There now, that's the most alarming of all 'things'," Itachi continues dismissively. "You're dealing well enough."

"'W-Well'?" demands Naruto, though his voice is meek again. His regurgitated fear seems to age him before servants' eyes. Wary, they are ready to constrain any mad attempts to escape.

However, Naruto stays still in his seat, save for anxious tremors. His eyes are wide with horror. "Th-That means Hinata--She's killed people. S-Sa-Sasuke--He's kill--" It's too much for the blonde, and he crumbles into the chair.

At the mention of killing, Itachi's eyes grow cold. "So living is a sin?" he admonishes in a controlled tone.

"What's a little hunger?" Naruto doesn't mean to shout, but his voice is faintly hysterical. "You don't have to kill--"

"Who are you, boy, to decide what have and do not have to do?" Itachi asks.

"I--" Eyes sagging, Naruto stairs at his feet.

Itachi waits patiently for a reply but continues calmly when it's clear he won't be receiving one. "We kill to maintain the thin tendons of control on ourselves. Yes, we are born in bloodlust; as infants, we fight viciously from our mothers' wombs, and those are our births," Itachi considers, looking across the room at the dark window. "If the blood requirement is denied, we lose control of ourselves, and kill on a rogue-like binge. When we're rogues, we can't hesitate to harm those around us. When we've control of ourselves is a completely different matter."

"So you're justifying killing..." faintly, Naruto's voice trails. Oddly, he feels...calm.

"Nothing of the sort," Itachi says softly.

Naruto rubs his throbbing temple. It's a lot to take in.

"So do you only--er--eat bad guys?" asks Naruto glumly.

Itachi's eyes sharpen. "Are you now saying that some lives outvalue others?"

Staring open-mouthed at the charming vampire before him, Naruto can only gape in an expression similar to that of a fish's. So instead of answering he simply stares. And continues to stare.

_Charm_. That had to be a reason he was suddenly appeased. His arguments had died on his dry lips, and the view he'd had just moments ago seems blotted and faraway. _There was_ some _reason to all this_. Some.

"Fine," Naruto says weakly. "Why can't you drink an animal's blood? Get a big, juicy cow..."

"Again you are assigning values to life. But anyhow, it boils our innards," answers Itachi simply. "We can't tolerate a lot of it, otherwise we turn into rogues."

"Oh." Naruto's dumbstruck again. In fact, he feels compelled to just keep sitting there with his mouth open, so the world could know how burnt his brain is. "So how are you immortal?" he starts quickly, picking the first thing from his mind.

"The clock ticks," Itachi says. "A couple of years makes no difference in the way we mark age. It is the decades that matter. Human lives fade and dwindle. They make the most of everything. We live to relish in our impulses but sudden urges hold nothing for us. For us, they'll always be tomorrow," he finishes in a lower tone.

"What if you held your breath for an hour? Wouldn't you--erm--die?"

One of the servants answers, apparently thinking the question unworthy of his master's attention. "We don't need to breathe."

"Oh," he says again. No breathing? Well, that was an odd thought. "What if you got stabbed in the back?" Naruto asks again.

"We can only be stabbed by rhyzite," the second servant says lowly. Slowly, they reveal a red-flashed knife from their pocket. "Or our own fangs."

Naruto's eyes widen with wonder, and he leans forward, only to have the servant shove the weapon back in one of their pouches. "Alright, how about fire?" the blonde asks, licking his lips.

"It doesn't harm us," the same servant answers. The first servant narrows his eyes, obviously annoyed.

"Okay, fine," Naruto says, not noticing. "How about garlic--"

"If you'd pardon me, Uzumaku Naruto," Itachi says, his voice overpowering Naruto's not in volume but in something else unsaid. "But there is more I have to say to you." Again, he doesn't wait for the blonde's reply. "My brother Sasuke requested with utmost sincerity that you live."

_Fuck yeah. Ten points for grumpy._ "G-Great," Naruto starts uncertainly.

"As you might have noticed when you were caught in that dispute the other day, we are at a place close to war with other coven-like groups for the moment. They consist of people similar to the rogues I mentioned previously," Itachi goes on, but Naruto is suddenly very aware of those smoldering eyes upon him. So you can see, it would be _quite_ trying to see our kind suddenly exposed among the frantic humans that are your people."

"Oh, I get it." Uneasily, the blonde grins. "Won't tell anyone, no I won't. You know, 'mom's the word'."

"'Mum'," the glaring servant scoffs.

Naruto jabs his finger in the air. "Whatever!"

"I thank you for understanding, Naruto," Itachi pronounces quietly, turning to leave. "For we both know that failure to keep your word could lead to _unfortunate _circumstances. Good night."

* * *

**Announcements:** So I was thinking about proceeding to the next day, but I figured this chapter was taking a rather uneventful track...so better to start out new next time. I apologize if this one seems short as well!


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be hammering piggy banks, now would I?

**Short Note:** Oh, goodness. The long note is all the way at the bottom. Pleeaase read. x33 For now, I apologize for the late late late late update! Please enjoy...

* * *

"Naruto?! It's been forever! _Where have you been?_"

As Naruto slips inside the old high school beside Temari and Ino, he feels himself being slammed right back outside. He grunts, the wind knocked out of him. His blurred vision of the bustling crowds of teens is soon obscured by a bright mass of pink.

Naruto blinks, awkwardly patting an emotional Sakura on the back. She grabs the yellow spikes of his hair, tugging so hard he winces.

"We all thought you died!" Sakura practically shrieks. She sobs _wetly_--if that was a word--into his shoulder. He can almost feel Ino's disgusted eyes boring into them. Temari snorts. "Shikamaru even wanted to put up flyers!"

"Mhy fth fthell wfthould thee pfood upth pflthyerms?"

"What did you say?" Sakura wails, her fists curling into his shirt.

"Er--" Naruto reddens. A year ago, he might have been flushed out of pleasure, but now he's just embaressed. Despite himself, he really doesn't want

Sasuke's "childhood" friends thinking him a loser. Cautiously, he detaches himself from Sakura and straightens. "I said why would he put up flyers?" the blond repeats calmly.

Sakura gapes, her bottom jaw hanging like a door off a hinge. Her blue eyes stare at him questioningly as her embracing hands stay limp in the air.

"What?" the blond furrows his brows a little. "Hey, Sakura, whats wr--"

"Nothing," Sakura mumbles, straightening her hair. "You just seem different. Get groped or something? Where've you been?"

"Oh--Uh, long lost uncle's place down town," Naruto spits his well-rehearsed lie. "Yeah, he's teaching here now. His name's Iruka. He convinced me to stay with him; you know adults, they don't think we can handle ourselves."

"Yeah," gulps Sakura. Wiping her eyes, she puts on a wide smile. "I get what youre talking about. Who're those girls who were with you before?"

"What are you talking about? They're still he--," Naruto double-takes and groans. Ino and Temari are no where in sight. He squints his eyes and grumbles to himself. "Who needs them anyway? Sakura," he talks a little louder, "let's go!"

Without waiting for his friend, Naruto sprawls into the open door of the high school. Sighing, Sakura trudges along.

* * *

"So Kimimaro, any plans for the weekend?" a surly voice draws close to the boy addressed.

Kimimaro barely looks up from his stare out the second story window. He runs an absent finger through his silver hair, his expression blank. Pausing before his response, he rubs the side of his forefinger with his free thumb. "Family stuff," he replies.

"Eh, really? Your imaginary family?" Kiba muses. "How come we never see 'em?"

"What, you his boyfriend or something?" Suigetsu snorts.

Karin settles her arms around both Kiba and Kimimaro. "Hell yeah," she says mischievously.

"Ew," Kiba mumbles. At the same time, Kimimaro makes a disgusted expression. "Piss off, Karin."

"Hmph." Hands on her hips, Karin pouts her lips and stands from her desk to tower over the sitting boys. She stares them down but soon turns to her far right. "Hey, where's Kabuto?"

"Saw him with Uchiha's crowd, you know the new freaks," Suigetsu grumbles. "Why the hell're girls mooning over them anyway? Even freakin Kabuto went over to share the spoils."

"Those guys are all jerks," Karin growls, crossing her arms.

"She's just saying that 'cause one of them dumped her ass," Kiba smirks.

"Naw, man," grins Suigetsu. "You can't dump someone you never liked. More like flat out rejected."

"Shut up," Karin says dangerously. "Like I said, they're all jerks!"

"Whatever man," Kiba shrugs. "You know they'll come back to us like," he snaps, "this."

"When they find out they're jerks!"

"Pff, shut up, Karin." Suigetsu fiddles with his pen. "Save that PMSing shit for your cronie bitches."

"Language, Suigetsu."

"You too, Kiba. Shut your trap. God, Kimimaro here's the only one who's got it. Look at him, quiet as always. You just here to make us look better, eh, Ki?"

Kimimaro makes a wry gesture at this and shrugs subtly. "Isn't that what you all need?"

"Ouch, man." Suigetsu grins again. "Maybe Kiba and Karin. Kabuto even. But me? _Hell_ no. It was me who brought Karin's bitches to us in grade seven! Hell, they were practically chasing after. Of course they wanted a piece of this. I mean, who wouldn't, you know? So anyway--"

Kimimaro sighs to himself; behind his lips, his tongue tenses over his razer teeth. He feels his bones twinging like talons, and he has to restrain a beast-like growl. His throat burns like a tornado in a desert, and he coughs, as if to spit out the dry sand.

He needs to feed.

Kimimaro was going to lose his mind if didn't get his hands on something with veins and a beating heart. He has to resist squirming even in his chair, and he slides his hand inside the desk, clenching it spasmically.

"Going to the bathroom," he says between his teeth before rushing to his feet. Behind him, he can hear the soft whoosh of air as Kiba and Suigetsu both shrug. He walks at an inconspicuous pace, impatient with his own feet. It's one thing that human lives re aso short, but another thing that they will waste it by always walking so slowly. At least Kimimaro, if all plans failed, would have eternity to traipse at a meaningless pace among the creatures he longed to consume.

Truly, Kimimaro wonders if it's better to starve himself or continue drinking animals' blood. The starving, he had decided, would prove to serve a better purpose for the long-term. He's just beginning to realize how unbearable it can prove to be. Another flare wells in his lungs, and Kimimaro inhales sharply.

Stupid.

The rushing oxygen only emphasizes the dry well of his throat. Irritated, Kimimaro licks his lips quickly, finally reaching the doorway.

He hears footsteps aside from the loud chatter in the classroom. They're lighter than normal, and Kimimaro's nose twitches at the coming scent. Sensing an aura, he know it's someone of his kind. Kimimaro grimaces inwardly, angry for not picking it up sooner.

Who _is_ it? The scent isn't familiar, so it probably belongs to someone of Uchiha's coven. The silver-haired vamp grits his teeth and has resist to from throwing himself out the door. With his supernatural abilities, he can be in the familiar, safe clearing in moments. With his lethargic, human façade of a walk, he can reach the roof in at least ten minutes.

_Shit. _Kimimaro nearly staggers on his way out. His fellow student's don't seem to notice, all caught up in their own locker-side conversations.

His hunger wasn't going to make him lose his sanity. The burn in his throat would just make him claw it all out with his own talons. Then he'd do something, like actually try to kill himself--_not possible_--or take the blood of a human.

Damn it, all he wanted was to die!

By the hands of a sist--

"Hey!" a course voice barks. "Ino, isn't that--?"

Kimimaro turns his attention back to the approaching vampire. So this is another of their coven? He wonders if they will stop entering the school one-by-one. _It's drawing attention._

"Shut up, Naruto," Kimimaro hears Ino hiss to the blond beside her. "Not in school."

Obviously agreeing, Kimimaro continues on his way to the roof.

"But Ino," Naruto whispers, turning as the silver figure stalks past him. "He--"

"You idiot!" Ino shoves Naruto full strength into their homeroom class. Stumbling over his own feet, the blond sprawls straight into the door frame.

He groans and rubs his forehead. "Ow, what the hel--"

"Don't stare at him! He's still our kind, he can sense it. Didn't someone tell you?"

"Yes," Naruto mumbles beneath his breath. His cheeks burn shamefacedly, and he changes the subject, growing even more serious. "What's going to happen to Sasuke? He's not dead, so--"

"I wouldn't think about it," Ino mutters. Her gaze scans the classroom unobstrusively as she settles into a desk chair. "The others have it covered, apparently."

"'The others'?" Naruto's face reddens. He, too, looks around, ensuring the two have no one else's attention. "Oy, you mean Itachi?"

"And some others," she shrugs. "Don't give me that look," she says, misunderstanding his expression, "they know what they're doing."

"I know," the blond blurts. He starts to take the chair beside Ino but, at a sharp glance from the female, decides otherwise. He collapses into the desk one chair away.

Since Naruto had been filled in on everything--well, he assumed it was everything--he'd been put in the care of the kinder vampire, Iruka. So he hadn't _really_ lied to Sakura that morning. Naruto didn't mind much; the dark, ancient Uchiha mansion wasn't much a comfortable home. Obviously, the coven wasn't letting Naruto out of their sights. Naruto didn't mind this either. Evident to that morning's walk with Ino and Temari, the blond oddly sought approval from the 'species' that had "taken him in".

From a spectator's point of view, he was bewitched.

The two sit in uncomfortable silence for the next few minutes. Naruto's eyes flick from his hands and back to the girl beside him. Ino doesn't bother to look back but sits gracefully, her back as straight as board. Her hands fold in her lap while her eyes linger lightlessly on the floor.

"Hey, Sakura was right. There's the skinny bastard right there!"

Naruto smiles slightly when Sai approaches the two. Finally, an old face. "Who're you callin' skinny?" he grins from ear to ear.

Sai shrugs, impaling his thin fingers on Naruto's desk. "So where were you?" Behind him, Naruto sees Shikamaru walking towards them. He nods in the brunette's direction, and Shikamaru lifts a hand as response.

"Long lost uncle's place." Naruto reiterates his story, all the time aware of Shikamaru's wary eyes. Stopping short at the end, he squints before addressing the brunette. "Hey, man, what's up with you? You look like you just shit a brick."

Naruto hears Ino snort at this comment, and he brightens a little, glad to be acknowledged.

"Hey, who's the chick?" Sai, taking the seat between the two, nods in Ino's direction.

A small wrinkle forms between the blonde girl's brows. She turns her face away, not liking the look of the newcomer.

"Ouch," mumbles Sai. He asks Naruto again, "Who's the chick"

Forgetting his inquiry to Shikamaru--the brunette sighs in, relief?--Naruto straightens importantly. "This is Yamanaka Ino. She--"

"She can talk for herself," Ino says, her bright eyes sharp. She absently adjusts the strap of her purple tanktop and flicks her ponytail back. Her long lashes narrow intimidatingly. Naruto thinks he hears Shikamaru growl.

"I'm a friend of Sasuke's," she continues. Her voice isn't _lethal_.

"So what're you doing here?" Shikamaru grimaces.

"I--"

"Her school burned down."

"Naruto!"

"Sorry." The blond's head lowers. He was just trying to help with the whole "think fast" thing.

Duh, she didn't need him. She'd been doing this centuries longer...

"Yeah," Ino says, exasperated. "My school _burned down_, and Sasuke's letting me stay at his place--"

"Hey, anyone notice we haven't been to Sasuke's house yet?" Sai interjects. He blathers on, obviously oblivious to the effect his rude interruption has on

Ino. The blonde girl glares daggers at him before turning away. Sai cuts his words short. "Hey, what'd I do?"

"Don't strain your brain thinking," Ino mumbles without looking back.

Sai's relaxed features strain a little; his brows come together in annoyance. "I heard that, Yamanaka."

"Is hearing new for you?"

Sai grunts and faces Naruto. "What's her problem?"

"Let's just say she's not comfortable in new crowds," the male blond replies with a twitching shrug. This wasn't quite a lie either. Neji, one of the few others allowed to be enrolled, refused to attend the school. Temari, Ino's newfound friend, has a completely different schedule, and Sasuke is--

Well, Sasuke isn't here.

"You." The two boys turn at the sound of Ino's voice, but she addresses neither of them. "You're Shikamaru," Ino says, facing the brunette with troubled eyes.

"Yeah," Shikamaru responds blandly, without looking. However, his eyes let slip a little suspicion. "Why?"

"Nothing," shrugs Ino. She pushes a blonde strand of hair back and looks him in the eye. "You're dating Temari, right?"

Shikamaru frowns, finally facing her. He looks her over with a casual facade and replies bluntly, "Yes."

Naruto gasps out loud, while Sai gives the blond a raised brow. "You didn't know, Naruto? Where've you been for the past month?"

"I never really noticed she went here," Naruto admits lamely.

"So what do you care?" Shikamaru asks Ino gruffly.

"She's sort of like family, and you don't seem her _type_," she replies with unabashed emphasis on her words.

At this, Shikamaru breaks into a satirical grin. He watches Ino's expression of disgust transform to one of shock. "Oh, we all have more in common than you might think, Yamanaka."

Sai arches his brow again but ends up shrugging. "Stop freaking out the chick, Shikamaru. The maniac smile thing might be too much for her blonde, blonde head."

"Hey!"

Smirking, Sai crosses his arms. "What, don't tell me you're the only one allowed to diss, blondie."

"Not allowed to, but the only one potentially able."

"_Potentially_."

Ino rolls her eyes and taps irritably on her desk. "What time does this stinking class start, anyway? I swear I heard the bell ring."

"It's Kakashi's class," Naruto pokes her.

She squeaks at the contact and retreats backward.

"What a cute noise," Sai remarks. "Wish I could say the same for the person."

Reddening, Ino turns to the smirking with a less-than-friendly expression. "You know what I wish--"

"Alright, adolescents. Settle down. Goodness, must we go through this everyday...?"

Naruto looks up to see Kakashi treading inside the room, a goofy grin plastered on his normally blank face. He snorts. Must have something to do with Iruka.

Settling in his seat, Naruto yawns as their teacher starts his half-hearted lecture. Beside him, he can still here Ino and Sai's drabbling. The previous night was long and eventful; maybe the blond would take time for a short nap...

* * *

Two figures, facing one another.

A black one, a white one.

Sasuke squints in the multicolored background. His legs continue their robotic stride, as if they'd never crashed and buckled. He groans softly, trying his best to rub his moving calves. They still ache.

The figures look familiar, the black one in particular. Something about its aura; he can't recognize the second one's.

_Aura_.

So he's definitely out of Konoha, not that the fact is incredibly hard to discern given his surroundings. The figures are getting closer and closer, though it doesn't seem his short strides are responsible. They're floating closer.

Suddenly, Sasuke's legs stop short, and he falls noiselessly to his knees. Blinking, the Uchiha hisses sharply, still unable to control his movements. The invisible white hands graze his neck, forcing his gaze forward.

Sasuke feels his stomah lurch as irises struggle to focus on the phantom limps touching his throat. However, the hands instantly move away as his face, like his legs, becomes frozen in his forward position. The frost at his throat instantly recedes, and he can only gasp, his hands useless. Sasuke squints again, colors flashing erratically across his view. The only colorless splotch in the scene is the white figure before him, the only shadow the black.

The figures have stopped drifting, and they stand at a total of five meters before him; neither see Sasuke. They have no shadows.

"_Yes, he'll be healed completely_," the white figure murmurs, making a motion with their wrist, "_out of our hands again._"

Sasuke makes an absent attempt to tilt his face. Who?

The black one is stationary. "_And the condition?_"

Sasuke is sure he knows that voice, but he can't name it. It's almost so obvious it's a given, like a part of him, a half. If he'd heard his own voice like that, he probably wouldn't recognize it. He knew that voice so well; it was imprinted in his memories, marred by their bias. Who was it?

"_He'll be staying with_ us _for a week,_" the white's voice is satirical, derisive. "_Seven days._"

At the black's silence, the white figure regards the other smugly. Though they do not have faces, Sasuke can taste the emotions like scents in the wind.

"_Is it too high a price? Will you let him die?_"

"_No,_" comes the black figure's response. "_I merely expected more out of you._"

"_Oh?_" the white figure throws back its head and laughs. "_What strange relationships you have--_" the voice blurs for a moment, "_--ee. Shall we meet at this point at 12 o'clock tonight?_"

"_If you wish,_" comes the black's smoldering reply.

"_Excellent. My subordinates will be pleased,_" the white figure murmurs.

The scene suddenly freezes, and Sasuke's brow arches. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, the frozen figures begin to...melt. Sasuke gasps as the finished scene turns to a gray, shadowy liquid and flushes into an opening fault in the color. Sasuke blinks and soon both the gray and the fault are gone.

His legs standing abruptly, Sasuke threatens to tumble forward. Again, he feels icy hands settle on his shoulders, and his stomach churns. Gritting his teeth, mind helpless, the young Uchiha begins to walk again.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hahaha. I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while (for those who care). Just coming home's been overwhelming, and the reason I was able to get _Color My World_ out was 'cause it's been fresh in my mind. I have to admit, it was a little hard getting back into the Naruto-esque swing of things.

So I've mostly been moping around these days doing absolutely nothing. And it's been killing me, considering how the crappy ending to last chapter basically makes me wanna shoot myself. And I think I found an error in my old chapters. Sai's brother...is older? I wrote younger, but I'm not sure which one it is. I haven't actually read the manga in millions of years (ever since itapoo stopped coming out).

_Pairings_. Oh goodness, I actually was still teetering on whether or not I should make this actual SasuNaru from the beginning. People have been demanding some yaoi-esque action for a while, so I guess that clinches it. _Maybe_. Well, obviously there are other pairings. KakaIru, for one thing (so damn adorable). And then there're the Hets...

Oh, the pain. I miss narrating from Sasuke-chan. He's so _chic_, in an angsty kind of way. You all can probably tell, considering the way Naruto's starting to mature a little. Our little dobe's growing up!

Anywhoo...please review! I'd love to hear from you--especially on the pairings note.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, neh.

**Author Stuff:** So I discovered I'm not the only one whose writing schedules have been messed up from all this back-to-school drama. I do apologize to the readers who are still here and still patient with me. Ha ha ha...

So I have this mortal fear of re-reading my long writings. It's just over such a long time that I actually start improving and when I read the beginning, I realize how horrible everything is. I'm pretty sure I gave the OC a way too big part but it's pretty important to the story. Though it makes everyone flinch, it makes me happy cause it's the original story (like i say on my profile page). And I apologize that the last bit in the chapter might seem a little random.

Well, anywho, onward!

* * *

Sasuke scrunches his face as he opens his eyes; they burn from a sudden light. Instinctively, he snaps them shut again, the darkness as comforting as a cool whiff of wind.

"Sasuke."

A familiar voice calls him, cold and impassive. It reminds him of his brother.

"I saw you open your eyes," the caller hisses. "Open them, Prince."

Breathing raggedly, Sasuke slowly rubs his dry lips together. His tongue feels parched, like someone had sprayed sand on it. He rolls back his shoulders then grits his teeth. He's stiff, as if he'd been lying in the same position for days. With his pale features, he muses, and his back's rigidness, he could probably pass off as a real corpse.

He parts his lips to snap back but is caught suddenly as a fire erupts in his throat. He gasps loudly, his stiffened spine cracking into an unnatural angle.

Jolting to a sitting position, Sasuke growls. His eyes open, suddenly red-rimmed and taut. Ravenous hunger vomits into his throat. His hearing is blotted with a crackling sound.

"What did you do?" he seethes when his eyesight focuses. His black orbs center on a silver figure before him. "Kimimaro."

"Not _so_ crazy, I see," Kimimaro answers, tilting his chin. His lip curves as he regards Sasuke with amusement. "Good, royal blood isn't wasted on you."

Sasuke sits upright on a white table, in the center of an expanding warehouse. The place is familiar, but he doesn't pay attention. "What did you do?" he repeats through clenched teeth. His irises roll manically from the bright lights.

"You're familiar with the--let's say--magic of royalty," shrugs Kimimaro. He starts to stalk around the table, the corner of his eye stuck latched onto the

Uchiha. "Your brother is."

Another spasm of aridness makes Sasuke twitch to the side; his talons grab the sides of the table. "Stop it!"

"Alright."

The pain stops then, and Sasuke huffs in meak relief. The boiling sound in his ears disappears, and all he can hear is his short, short pants.

"There now, so dramatic," Kimimaro sniffs.

"Why am I here?" Sasuke demands. "What happened?"

"Orochimaru was supposed to kidnap you," says the older man. "But since he failed, he sedated you instead, with a vile of an old substance. Yes, it's a good thing for you that you were treated early. The poison could've left you comatose for--well, call it the rest of your life," he finishes quizzically.

"Poison?" Sasuke repeats groggily. Now that the hunger has receded, his slug-paced pulse begins to convulse in his head. Terrible, knotting aches echo in his head. "Damn it, what am I doing here? Why did you mention my brother?"

"Your brother," Kimimaro crosses his arms, continuing to circle him, "is scum. Respectable, but scum all the same."

"Is that what you think?" Sasuke's feral eyes grow sharp as his muscles tense. "I agree, my brother is scum. But the same God forsaken frozen blood of his runs in my veins too. If any outsider wants to attack him, I take it as a direct offense."

"I see," the Kaguya smirks. "The two of you make a brother complex. That's heavenly."

"Isn't it?" replies Sasuke satirically. He slides off the concrete bed and stumbles awkwardly into an angled stance. His knees quiver beneath his jagged pants, but he purses his lips to cover up the falter. "Now tell me where I am."

"Oh, you're hardly in a position to be asking questions," Kimimaro snorts, stopping in front of him. He's at least four inches taller than Sasuke, and despite the age difference, looks only a year or two older. Their eyes share a similar glow, however.

Sasuke almost sneers. "My position is prince of the Uchiha clan, as it will be for all eternity."

"And what a magnificent card to play," a hissing voice remarks from the shadows. Sasuke restrains a flinch, his popping shoulder blades making a valley at the back of his T-shirt. His hands tighten around his leather bracelet.

Striding past Kimimaro, Sasuke makes his way towards the speaker beneath one of the warehouse's pillars. "Orochimaru! Come out and fight me!"

"Hmph," Orochimaru smacks his lips. The light casts an eerie shadow beneath his cheek bones. "Are you sure that's what you want, prince?"

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke starts to continue forward when Kimimaro appears in front of him with stern eyes. "You forget, _prince_, that I am royalty as well." He flicks his hand, aiming to hit Sasuke across the face, but Sasuke evades it by a hair, unbalancing himself as he leans back. Eyes narrowing,

Sasuke back steps and then slides past Kimimaro. His hands go for the knife that would normally be nestled in the hidden pocket of his heavy jeans, but he touches only a heap of cloth.

Grunting beneath his brother, Sasuke aims the flat of his fist towards his older adversary when he realizes he's touching nothing but air. Stiffening, he flicks around, when Kimimaro's arm hooks its way around his neck. Sasuke gasps. The crook of Kimimaro's arm pinches his throat's skin.

Sasuke's nose wrinkles from the close contact and forces himself to keep his eyes peeled on the floor while he struggles. He hears Orochimaru chortle throatily.

"What you're doing here, is that what you want to know?" Orochimaru grins. His teeth are sharp, his fangs stained of faded blood. "Well, I'll tell you. Your brother's traded you in for yourself."

With a bemused arch of his brow, Sasuke pauses in his spasmodic movements. His lips press together in thought, but the anger in his eyes turns the expression into a grimace. "What?"

* * *

"Sasuke's _where_?!"

Naruto can't even catch who has mouthed his immediate thought. His eyes are too busy trying to peel answers from the older Uchiha before him.

Just moments ago, Ino, Temari, and Naruto had returned to the mansion after school to be met by Itachi and--as Naruto loved to call them--his lackies.

The raven-like vampire had been standing against the main stairway railing, his gaze fixed expressionlessly in mid-air. The others--Kisame, Sasori, Kabuto, Zetsu--stood in an almost crescent around him, strewn over the stairs like rag dolls.

And then Itachi had turned slowly, his sculpted features brandished under shadows, and he'd looked calmly at them and said, "Sasuke's with Kimimaro."

_GUFFAW_.

_GUH FUCKING AW_.

The tallest boy, Kisame, shakes out his blue-tipped spikes and laughs. "Damn, Itachi. I think you made this one shit his pants."

Naruto's face reddens, and his shoulder blades pop out like that of a bear's. He rolls up each sleeve, taking a step forward. "Why you--"

"Hold up there," Temari grabs his shoulder. "I wouldn't go near Kisame-sempai."

Grumbling, Naruto protests but to no avail to the vampire's strength. "But he said--"

"Weren't you just worrying about something else?" she says.

The blond's eyes widen again in a way that says _'Oh!'_, and he turns back to Itachi, who's turned to exchange words with Kabuto. "Why's Sasuke with _them_? Are you _crazy_--?" Ino kicks him by now but his mouth keeps spilling. "--And he's your brother, and he's younger, well not that younger since you're a vampire but--"

Itachi turns in their direction again, eyes keen. "Tell me how you would've revived him, then."

"What?" Naruto's mouth is agape, like a fish.

"Sasuke can take care of himself," Itachi shrugs. "After all, he's my brother."

"But that guy who attacked him's supposed to be like a psycho, right??" Naruto exclaims. His brows crease nervously.

"A cannibal," Sasori corrects him blandly, "actually."

Naruto's eyes pop as he faces Sasori, completing the fish silhouette. From the corner of his eye, he thinks he sees a slight smile creep onto Itachi's face, but when he double-takes around, the Uchiha's expression is unreadable.

"I think I understand," Temari says quietly. She crosses her arms and frowns. Ino by her side, chews on her lip.

Ino twiddles her thumbs, the straps of her back slumping past her shoulders. "Why Kimimaro? How could you trust him?"

"He doesn't." Kabuto breaks from the crescent. His dark eyes are narrowed and stern. "You're half-witted if you think he would."

Ino's teach make a low shrieking sound as they grit together. "Why you--"

"I'll be less evasive of the entire subject," Itachi cuts in quickly. His tone is curt, his expression annoyed. "Kimimaro, being an ancient, obviously has the antidote for his minion--no, _partner_'s poison." He sighs softly, his milky lids falling a little. He runs a hand through a dark bang, out of habit. "I wouldn't even begin to waste time searching for another antidote. I'll admit, I know little of the poison but its severity. We had a deal. Kaguya will cure him, and in exchange, Sasuke stays with them for a week."

"A week?!" Naruto yells, jumping ten feet in the air. However, no one pays him mind now.

Ino, ignoring the blond, protests bemusedly. Her blue orbs hold an unidentifiable eagerness. "But you'd trust him--?"

"No," says Itachi resolutely. "That would make it all to easy for him, wouldn't it?"

"So what are we gonna do?" Ino frowns. She twirls the tips of her streaming hair through her fingers.

"We're going against Kimimaro's plans," Temari guesses aloud. She watches Kisame in question.

The vampire grins a sadistic grin and raises his three center fingers. "Three days," he breathes excitement. "In three days, we're infiltrating Kaguya's lair."

* * *

Naruto sighs cautiously, afraid that if he's too loud, everything would be too obvious. His eyes squint towards Sai and Shikamaru, and he envies them for having so little to worry about.

The three boys sit on the closed high school's front lawn, staring at the street. Temari sits beside Shikamaru, their arms close but not quite touching. Ino sits behind Temari, her knees folded to her chest. Her lids lower in a way that makes her look defeated. Sai, beside Temari, sees this from the corner of his eye but says nothing.

"Hey, how about we go to the warehouse?" Naruto says with forced cheer. "I haven't been there since Sa--I mean, since I moved to Iruka's."

"Not today," Shikamaru coughs. He watches Temari with slow eyes, either passionately or cautiously.

Naruto frowns. "What?"

"I just don't want to hang out at that dirty place today, alright?"

"Sheesh, fine," Naruto grumbles. A silver car whizzes across the road, gradually carrying a slight breeze towards the group. He clutches his jacket more tightly around him. "Tomorrow."

Shikamaru gives him a dark eye but says nothing.

Temari holds a slight hand to the sky. "Winter's coming again, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it always starts with this kind of chill," Shikamaru murmurs to her. His line of sight matches her, and they stare together into the sky, seeing whatever lovers always see.

Ino stares at her hands, pulling her knees even closer. Sai's perfect demeanor cracks when he sees this, and his infamous fraud smile droops.

"What's wrong with you?" he asks in an unreadable tone. "Are you PMSing or something?"

Sai can swear her eyes flashed red for a second, and he distances himself by at least an inch before continuing. "I mean--er--" his pseudo smile returns like an automated curtain. "Is something bothering you?"

"No."

Ino stares at Shikamaru and Temari's backs before lifting her chin to look up. Her eyes squint and unsquint, as if she were scanning the skies. Curious, Sai tries to follow her gaze but finds it lost and hard to follow. Instead, he bends back a little to watch Ino herself.

Her long brown-blonde lashes nearly cover up her light pupils. Her eyes quiver spasmodically, stilling every few seconds only to visibly shudder moments later.

Sai recognizes many emotions in her expression. By her shaky state, he recognizes first that she's worried about something. To continue, he has to watch extra hard.

Sai bites his tongue, furrowing his brow. The clogs of his mind churn mechanically as he examines every unsketched line in her profile. No, it's too hard--

Something occurs to him then. Moving his neck unobtrusively, he sees the downward curve of her lids. What makes her look so different now?

Is it the iridescent sparkle at the edge of her iris, or the sleek glow at the ends of her golden hair? Sai's frown naturally returns. No, those were normal.

He twists his neck again and suddenly gets it.

Her eyes are sad.

Since he was little, Sai had always classified emotion into two categories: real and beautiful. Beautiful emotions were the glamorous expressions materialists often wore. No, they weren't fake. Rather, they were the angelic appearances that should be reserved for photographs and paintings. They were grace itself, yet Sai knew no was truely graceful.

Real emotions were real. Happy, sad, mad.

As an artist, Sai always preferred the former solely for its aesthetic.

Ino's cold exterior tarnished by "real" emotions, it occurs to Sai that she seemed really very _touchable_, _palpable_, a clipped angel.

"Why're you staring at me?"

Sai blinks, hearing almost a mile away, a boy's laughter. He blinks again and realizes its Naruto, laughing at Sai's own stupid expression. Grinnning,

Naruto howls, jolting to his feet, awakening the mood.

Ino takes her annoyed eyes from Sai, as if retracting her question, and looks instead at Naruto. She scolds him aloud and puts a hand on her hip.

Finally gaining the sense to defend himself against Ino, Naruto crosses his arms and argues in his loud, discordant voice. Then, stepping strangely, he slips and falls flat on the grass.

Temari laughs softly, and even Shikamaru cracks a smile. The blond sits up and rubs his head, pouting at the other four. Ino is ginning despite herself, and

Sai resumes his signature expression.

Shaking his head, Naruto slowly smiles as well. But the laugh is fleeting, and soon his brows angle themselves sadly. He remembers Sasuke, and slowly, still laughing beneath his breath, he sees the sky.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto. Not one bit.

**Announcements**: I guess a lot of the stories gotten messed up, considering I've been doing it for so long... Well I'm gonna start editing and cutting soon (especially 'cause there's a lot of crap scenes in the beginning). Ah well, thanks for reading.

* * *

"Enjoying the view, Sasuke?"

The approacher's lustrous voice makes Sasuke's ears buzz, and he has to bite back an irritated grunt. Sasuke crosses his arms across his chest; his eyes pierce the meager hole in the wall known as his window. "All too much," Sasuke snorts.

"Good, good," he can almost hear Orochimaru's grin. Sasuke's slow heart shudders as the air around him tips towards a cooler temperature. He can feel the man's approach. "I'm glad to see our guest is well-accommodated."

"Why the hell are you here?" Sasuke asks, scraping his talons against the concrete wall. His prison cell is at least ten times smaller than his room in the old mansion and about two times darker. It has one hanging bed but no other furniture. The floor is black with soot.

Four feet, three feet. Sasuke's ears twitch as he calculates the man's distance from him, when he suddenly twists around, eyes piqued red. "Answer me," he seethes.

"Oh, don't worry," Orochimaru shrugs. His gold eyes flicker. "I've come to give you a tour."

Bending his neck left and right, Sasuke glares. "I'm fine, thank you. Leave."

"You're forgetting who's the host here," Orochimaru murmurs pleasantly. He draws closer, his palms open towards the vampire prince.

Sasuke takes a step back, dismayed to find himself against the wall. Clenching his teeth, he rubs a hand over his cold arm. "What do you mean a tour?" he asks, deepening his voice. His hands go reflexively to the secret slot in the belt of his pants, where his knife used to be.

"Simple," says Orochimaru. His thin lips curl. "Follow me."

* * *

Naruto sticks his head beneath the great stairs' banister, his bright eyes peeking. Frowning, he pushes his right hear outward with his finger and grunts.

"Damn vampires. They're all so damn quie--" His eyes widen as he literally jumps; his head bangs into the railing. He smiles nervously at the newcomer in front of him and tears as he avoids crying out from his new bruise.

"Uzumaki." Neji's brows come together, forming a light shadow. He crosses his arms. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, hey Neji," Naruto exhales, "it's just you."

"What do you mean by 'just you'?" the vampire frowns, straightening with palpable pride. Neji's white eyes seem to glisten with some outter sheen.

"It's a compliment." The blond tears his face from the banister bars.

By now, Neji is glaring at him. "You haven't answered my first question."

"Oh," Naruto mumbles dumbly. He blinks twice and fiddles with his shaded collar. "I'm--um--"

"You wouldn't be eavesdropping on the others, now would you?" The vampire tilts his pointed chin and grits his teeth. "For I assure you, if one of our kind is being eavesdropped on, he or she will know."

Naruto's eyes widen, and he reflexively hops to a higher step. "Eavesdropping? God, what would give you that idea?"

Neji snorts, and Naruto sees his gaze veer to the corner of his eye. He shivers, for the other boy's non-existant pupils. "You know, Hinata wears contact lenses to cover those things up at school," the blond blurts. "And the few times she didn't, she said _that_ was the fake color. You know, fashionable or shit."

"Do you want me to lie in order to ease your discomfort?" Neji muses. Raising a brow, he smirks to himself. "I see Sasuke doesn't specialize in picking friends."

"Don't you belong in that 'friend' category?" Naruto asks. His voice becomes cautious, and he hopes to hell he doesn't get on the immortal's bad side.

To his surprise, Neji answers rather calmly.

"Like I said," Neji shrugs. "Or maybe everyone's just like this."

Naruto blinks curiously. _Like what?_

"Anyhow, we can sense your trying to listen in," Neji parts from the subject. "Why don't you try getting a life?"

"I thought I was on parole here," the blond makes a round-a-bout motion. His fingers brush across the bronze-carved railing.

"True," says Neji. He lifts his sharp fingers in front of his face, examining them. "But then you continue to find yourself in the company of your human friends. Why not find them?"

"'Cause I can't freaking stand this!" Naruto narrows his eyes. "Don't I get to know what's going on? Don't I have any part in this?"

Neji's forefinger twitches, and he stares at Naruto again. "Your role is to sit still with a closed mouth."

Snarling, Naruto jumps forward again, nearly slipping on the red-carpeted steps; his hand clamps onto the banister. The fear is gone from his eyes, and his black irises shrink down to beads. "Don't I at least get to fucking know what's happening to Sasuke? Didn't you call him and me friends?"

Neji makes a soft sucking sound with his tongue, and he tilts his head back. Shrugging, he curls his fingers to his palm. "I," he says, "am not making the decisions."

"Well then, Operator, connect me to Spikey-Blue-Man," Naruto grumbles. "Or Creeps-Around-Red-Man. Or maybe even Ita--Hey, where do you think you're going?"

Neji's back is turned to the blond, and he slips down each step with inhuman grace. "Back to the meeting; you've become a bore."

"Fine! Then I'm coming with you!" Naruto yells, even though they are only seven feet apart. He stumbles coming down the moaning stairs, jumping the last few steps and landing right in front of a growling Neji.

Putting a hand on his hip, Neji glares haughtily. "You're delaying me, Uzumaki."

"I guess I am," the blond shrugs. He peers past Neji to the wide room to the far front left; he hears muffled voices.

His tone rough and abrupt, Neji asks impatiently, "Just how much do you care about your friend, Naruto?" It's obvious who he's talking about.

Naruto stops mid-thought and twists his lips. Making a fist, he slams it into his other palm, creating a snapping sound. His brows twitch, and he blows a breath. "How much do I care about that bastard?"

"Yes," Neji runs a hand through his long hair, "haven't you only known him for weeks?"

"Months, actually," Naruto says rather quickly.

"Still, tell me how much you care."

Crossing his arms, Naruto averts the immortal's gaze and stares at a spherical statue with the corner of his eye. "I don't have to tell you anything."

"Then I won't tell you anything either."

"Well, you don't have to--," and with that, the blond runs the fastest he can. He dashes past Neji, grinning vehemiously. His shoes skid on the marble floor; just a few more meters, and he'll reach the meeting room.

With the speed of lightning, Neji plucks Naruto backwards, forcing him back to the foot of the stairs.

Naruto mumbles to himself, judging the distance between him and his destination. His narrow eyes squint with effort; the meeting room suddenly seems miles away.

Neji looks as if he will retort something nasty, but he checks himself abruptly. Bemused, Naruto opens his mouth to demand an explanation when a shadow seems to cross through him. He gulps, noticing then another pair of eyes upon him. Looking up, he spots matching red orbs.

"Sasori-sama," Neji bows his head. He elbows Naruto, inclining that he do the same.

Naruto, however, does nothing of the sort. Instead, his cheeks puff red, and his spine straightens. "Hey! Carrot top!" he glares up at the bleak figure in front of him. "How about you--"

Naruto is cut short as Sasori snatches his wrist and throws the boy inches backward. Stunned, Naruto shakily regains his footing. He sees stars.

"I'm sorry for the delay," the blond hears Neji utter. Sasori nods, even as he stares coldly at Naruto.

Hiding his translucent hands beneath his sleeves, Sasori says softly, "The boy is permitted to listen in."

Neji guffaws, and Naruto's eyes widen with triumph. "Ha!" he grins, jumping in the air. "In your face, milk-eye-boy!"

Frowning, Sasori turns on his heel. "That is, only because he is such a terrible disturbance when left alone."

Neji snorts and follows behind the authorative figure. Naruto scurries behind.

* * *

The ninth corridor, the two vampires were stalking down the ninth quarter and still at the sluggish speed of a human! Sasuke flicked his tongue over his lips. Even on school days, he'd returned home to run across the property, for he relished the taste of air and speed. He wanted his shoulders to gnarl in animalistic tension. He wanted to scream.

His eyes dart around the white hallways. Some rooms reveal more concrete prisons. Some rooms are abandoned labs. Some rooms expanded into underground tunnels. Warehouses, Orochimaru told him. Everywhere was connected to warehouses. The words had reminded Sasuke briefly of his human friends' hang out area. However, Sasuke doubted with all his mind his scruffy blond having an association with these lunatics. Afterall, he'd just learned about the existence of his kind. After that, he didn't think much of it.

"Are you trying to dull my mind by walking around in these pointless circles?" Sasuke growls.

Orochimaru chuckles, making another sharp turn. "That would be a probably explanation, wouldn't it? But no, I have something much more interesting in mind."

Resisting the urge to shove the man's words back up somewhere most uncomfortable, Sasuke takes a deep breath and exhales.

"Calming yourself, I see," says the taller man. "My, you've grown since first we encountered one another. Don't you remember?"

"How couldn't I?" Sasuke says.

"You were still quite attached to your brother then, I recall," Orochimaru's eyes gleam. "What's changed?"

Brows furrowing, Sasuke shoves his hands into his pockets.

"Allow me to apologize," Orochimaru smirks, "I must have hit a sensitive spot." Momentarily amused at the boy's silence, he continues. "Well, yes, I think I happened on the two of you training, or were you running? The image freshest in my mind is you following inches in his shadow."

Sasuke can feel Orochimaru's eyes worming over his face, his fists, his shoulders. Feeling soiled and disgusted at both the man and himself, he throws his hair so his bangs fall over most of his gaze. "And then you ran in, cannibalistic fangs and all."

Orochimaru clicks his tongue, a sound that makes Sasuke wince. "Now, Sasuke, is that all you remember?"

"What more is there to remember? You're a psychotic rogueish genius," Sasuke says delicately. "I can't even imagine why you've chosen to side with these..._blood traitors_."

"By 'blood traitors', you mean those who've chosen to side with humans?" Orochimaru raises a brow.

"Of course not," Sasuke grunts. "Many of our kind live among humans, and we only do them harm in long fractions of time. We've lived in a balance for centuries, and I don't see why--or how--that should be changed. I refer to those who vow not to drink blood for extended periods, beyond their limits. It's pointless. When they reach the point of self-induced insanity, they'll end up taking more lives than if they'd stuck to regular feeding intervals, anyhow. If these traitors do this out of love for the lowly creatures they live among, then it is a 'tough love', and a stupid one."

"Ah, but not all of them do it out of love. Take Kimimaro for example," Orochimaru shrugs. They turn another corner, and Sasuke gasps as he sees movement in the shadows of another room. He stops short and twists around to see moaning figures writhing on the distant floors. Taking a step forward, he grits his teeth as Orochimaru's frigid hand claws onto his shoulder. "I'm afraid our destination is due another corridor."

"Who are they?" Sasuke growls, shrugging out of the man's palm.

"Patience, we're almost there." Orochimaru slithers on, confident that the young prince will follow. His brow twitching, Sasuke takes a closer look at the open room. Dark eyes blink unobtrusively, and Sasuke nearly steps inside but acts otherwise. Shaking his head, he walks after Orochimaru.

_Patience_, Sasuke hears not Orochimaru's but his father's voice in his head.

Sasuke inhales, exhales. His gaze steady, he says, "Tell me why Kimimaro betrays his instinct."

"'Betrayal', 'traitor', such harsh words from our prince," Orochimaru muses.

"I wouldn't trade anything to be anyone other than who I am," Sasuke replies. "Why should someone tarnish what they were meant to be? To do?"

"Your brother has already done a little of that."

"Irrelevant! Stop bringing him into this!" Sasuke's eyes darken. "Answer my first question."

"It was more of a command," says Orochimaru. "And of course I wouldn't give away his secrets, for who knows what secrets of mine he'd give away in exchange? Sasuke, don't you know, no one can be trusted."

Sasuke starts to reply, but the older vampire cuts him off. "Ah, we're here."

The corridor ends in a set of huge, metal doors. Silver bolts and nails cascade across the massive hinges that do nothing for the entrance's appearance.

The doorframe rises at least eight feet taller than Sasuke, though the door to the right bends inward, not quite fitting. The metal is smashed at an angle and a few bolts are knocked loose. Near the middle point of both doors are a pair of indents shaped into five-fingered hands.

"What the hell--?"

"I doubt this will do anything for an _Uchiha Prince_," Orochimaru says condescendingly. Bemused, Sasuke twists to face the man, but Orochimaru is concentrated elsewhere. Pushing forward, his palms shove the metal door, falling snugly into palm-shaped dent. At first, they have no effect but soon the doors start to give. Blue-white veins throb at the vampire's wrists as the doors creak and finally release.

Stepping back, Sasuke examines first the swinging doors. Slowly, cautiously, he steps forward. His eyes widen as his vampire eyes adjust to the dimness of the room beyond, and he falters backward. His throat constricting on itself, he points an accusing finger at Orochimaru. "What the hell kind of place have you brought me too?"

"A testing room," the man answers quite calmly. "It's similiar to the one we nearly stopped at before. Those figures, those people inside that room, they were humans."

Clenching his fists, Sasuke drags his feet. "What do you do to them?" he demands.

Eyes mischievous, Orochimaru tilts back his head. "I would think the image was self-explanatory."

In the room ahead lies another wide warehouse. Its lights become increasingly brighter, on account of massive set of spotlights placed in the far back of

the area. Within the first few feet of the warehouse, lie a string of human corpses placed accordingly aligned to the room's metal columns. The room smells foul with rot, and pools of blood drench the foot of the warehouse's falls. The floor is curved toward the center, so the red liquid may runoff to the side. To Sasuke's disgust, he can see thin grasses growing among the room's crimson-crusted corners.

Each corpse lies with a cool, both their eyes and lips cold in a sleep-like peace. However, their chests are all sliced open in the same diamond shape, as if someone had cut them all with the same knifey stencil. Their hearts are missing.

Half the corpes are fresh; Sasuke doesn't bother to locate them, for his senses are so filled. His eyes tear from the scent's strength. His tongue feels suddenly parched from the blood's temptation, but his nostrils twitch in disgust of the rotten smell. Swallowing hard, Sasuke wipes his eyes and takes another step back from the warehouse room.

"What the fuck kind of experiment are you doing?" Sasuke yells, his voice high and uncontrolled. The note of his tone twists roughly, sounding like a false string on an instrument.

"I'll explain," a cool voice cuts in. Behind the shadow of a pillar, Kimimaro slithers into view. His eyes are much more tired than when Sasuke'd last seen him, and his voice sounds worn down.

Orochimaru snorts, skidding beside Sasuke. "Then I think I'll take my leave."

Sasuke doesn't even watch him leave.

"We brought you here to request that you test a _theory_ out," Kimimaro says sharply. He strides towards a table to the side. To Sasuke's horror, he sees it covered in vase-encased organs--hearts.

"You tore out all their hearts?" he doesn't breathe. His voice echoes. Neither of them exhale, neither speak to follow Sasuke's question.

Sasuke's eyes trace the vases, trailing after the bobbing motion of each of the plump organs. He hears them bump dully against their glass containers.

"_I_ brought you here to test a theory."

Sasuke clenches his teeth. He fights the urge to jump the vampire before him; his previous temptation to drink is dead, and he wets his tongue with saliva. "And this theory is--?"

Kimimaro speaks softly, "That a royal who willingly eats a human heart will become mortal."


End file.
